The Seattle Mariners broke a seemingly endless curse by clinching an MLB playoff berth for the first time since 2001.

Now, the NBA's Sacramento Kings are the team who have been out of the playoffs for the longest of any professional U.S. sports team.

The Californian franchise has not played in the playoffs since 2006, when they finished eighth in the West and fell in the first round.

The Kings hold a historic record of consecutive seasons without playoff appearances in the NBA: since 2006, they've accumulated 16.

The record until now was held by the Los Angeles Clippers, who went fifteen years without a playoff between the 1976-77 and 1990-91 seasons.

What makes it even worse for the Kings is that in the MLB, it's more difficult to make the playoffs. In the NBA, 16 of 30 teams make it (53%).

Currently, no other team comes close to their 16-year absence. The Hornets, with the second-worst streak, have missed 6 season in a row (since 2016).

What's more, the Kings lost the first rounds in 2005 and 2006. Their last playoff win dates back to the first playoff round in 2004. 

It's been 71 years since they played in  the NBA Finals. In 1951, they were the Rochester Royals and they won their only championship against the Knicks.

They haven't reached a Conference final in two decades, since their famous and controversial defeat in 2002 (3-4) against Kobe and Shaq's Lakers.

In their last playoff game (May 5, 2006), the stars were Mike Bibby, Bonzi Wells and Ron Artest (later known as Metta World Peace).

Will they break the curse in 2023? It's up to De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis, and young guys Keegan Murray and Davion Mitchell.