1988–89 Sacramento Kings season

Gregg Lukenbill (Grant Napear, Derrek Dickey) (Gary Gerould)

The 1988–89 Sacramento Kings season was the 40th season for the Sacramento Kings in the National Basketball Association, and their fourth season in Sacramento, California. It was also the team's first season at the new ARCO Arena, known as "ARCO Arena II", after playing the previous three seasons at the original ARCO Arena, as well as the team's first season in the Pacific Division of the NBA's Western Conference.

The Kings received the 18th overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft from the Atlanta Hawks via trade, and selected small forward Ricky Berry out of San Jose State University. During the off-season, the team acquired Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen from the Houston Rockets, and also acquired Randy Wittman from the Hawks.

At mid-season, the team traded Ed Pinckney, and Joe Kleine to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Danny Ainge, and second-year forward Brad Lohaus, and dealt Wittman, and LaSalle Thompson to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Wayman Tisdale. The Kings held a 14–32 record at the All-Star break, and finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 27–55 record.

Second-year guard Kenny Smith averaged 17.3 points, 7.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while McCray averaged 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and Harold Pressley provided the team with 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and also led them with 119 three-point field goals. In addition, Berry contributed 11.0 points per game, and Petersen provided with 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Following the season, Petersen was traded to the Golden State Warriors, and Lohaus was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves expansion team.