| Yakama Sun Kings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leagues | CBA 1990–2008 | |||
| Founded | 1990 | |||
| History | Kansas City Sizzlers 1985–1986 Topeka Sizzlers 1986–1990 Yakima Sun Kings 1990–2005 Yakama Sun Kings 2005–2008 |
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| Arena | Yakima SunDome | |||
| Location | Yakima, Washington, United States | |||
| Team colors | Blue, Gold and White | |||
| Head coach | Paul Woolpert | |||
| Championships | 5 (1995, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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The Yakama Sun Kings were a Continental Basketball Association franchise located in Yakima, Washington, United States, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities and Ellensburg. The Sun Kings played at the Yakima SunDome.
Originally located in Kansas City, Missouri, and then Topeka, Kansas, the franchise moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1990 and was renamed the Yakima Sun Kings. The Sun Kings have been fairly successful historically, given the inconsistent nature of minor-league basketball; they won the 1994–95, 1999–2000 and 2002–03 CBA championships. The Sun Kings had a disappointing 2003–04 season when they posted a 10–38 record. They were also 0–9 against the CBA Champion Dakota Wizards.
In June 2005, the team was purchased by the Yakama Indian Nation, and were renamed the Yakama Sun Kings to honor the Nation.
Ronny Turiaf, a 2005 draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, played nine games for the Sun Kings in the 2005–06 season, less than six months after undergoing open-heart surgery which caused the Lakers to void his contract. He averaged 13 points in nine games with the team before re-signing with the Lakers in January 2006.[1]
The Sun Kings won their fourth CBA Championship with a 111-101 victory in Game 3 of a best-of-3 finals series against the Gary Steelheads on March 27, 2006.[2]
In 2006–07 the Sun Kings repeated as champions, sweeping the Albany Patroons three games to none.[3]
Although the Yakama Indian Nation announced they had shut down team operations on April 10, 2008, due to the franchise's financial losses,[4] potential investors continue to meet with the team's owners in order to keep the team afloat.[5]