Kings will bring coach Doug Christie back next season

Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee on Apr 12, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Doug Christie’s future as head coach of the Sacramento Kings has been the subject of speculation throughout the season, but there will be no uncertainty as the team heads into the offseason.

League sources told The Sacramento Bee the Kings will bring Christie back next season despite their struggles this season, as first reported by The Athletic’s Sam Amick.

Injuries to most of the team’s veteran stars have made it difficult for Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Scott Perry to assess Christie’s performance. Despite Sacramento’s struggles, the first-time head coach has impressed with his ability to keep the locker room together while establishing a strong connection with Sacramento’s young players.

The Kings (22-59) have fallen far short of expectations as they head into Sunday’s season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers, but they were doomed from the start after Keegan Murray suffered the first in a series of injuries that decimated the team. Subsequent injuries to Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, De’Andre Hunter and others forced Christie to deploy 35 different starting lineups.

The Kings never played a game with the starting lineup that was projected at the beginning of the season. Murray and Sabonis didn’t play a single game together. Sabonis appeared in only 19 games, Murray 23 games and LaVine 39 games.

LaVine, Sabonis, Hunter and Drew Eubanks all underwent season-ending surgery at various points and Murray never returned after suffering a second left ankle sprain on Feb. 25. The Kings finished the season with a rotation featuring Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Precious Achiuwa, rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford, rookie second-round pick Maxime Raynaud, undrafted rookie Dylan Cardwell, two-way player Daeqwon Plowden and Killian Hayes, who came to Sacramento on a 10-day contract in late February.

Despite the team’s injuries, Christie led the Kings to an 8-9 record over the past 17 games with wins over Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors, all of whom are headed to the playoffs or the play-in tournament.

Christie was named interim head coach when Mike Brown was fired after going 13-18 to start the 2024-25 season. Christie guided the Kings to a 27-24 record over the final 51 games. When Perry was hired to replace former general manager Monte McNair last season, one of his first decisions was to retain Christie as head coach.

Christie played for the Kings from 2000-05 at the height of their success under Rick Adelman. His love and dedication to the Kings organization and the team’s fans is unquestionable even if he remains unproven as a head coach.

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