Sacramento Kings reportedly will retain Doug Christie as coach

TL;DR

The Sacramento Kings will retain Doug Christie as head coach despite a disappointing season. Reports indicate that the team's struggles are more due to roster issues than coaching performance, and Christie is favored by both the owner and fans.

Sacramento went into this season with dreams of the playoffs and a return to how the team played in 2023. Instead, the 22-win, injury-riddled Kings are 15 games out of even the No. 10 seed and again looking to the NBA Draft Lottery for luck.

Coach Doug Christie is not going to pay the price for that. Multiple reports say Christie will be retained as the Kings' head coach, with Sam Amick of The Athletic being first.

There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that the Kings' struggles are far more about the roster construction than the coaching — more than one person around the league has told NBC Sports, "I don't know how good a coach Christie is" because of the talent he had to work with. Christie took over midseason in 2025, after Mike Brown was fired just after Christmas. Not long after he took over, a huge roster shift began after De'Aaron Fox demanded a trade. This season, the Kings dealt with injuries to key players and also looked to start trading veterans and rebuild.

The Kings also reportedly liked how young players such as Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford developed under Christie.

It's also worth noting that Christie, a former Kings player, is reportedly a favorite of team owner Vivek Ranadive and parts of the Sacramento front office. Christie also is popular with the fan base. Christie signed a three-year contract with the Kings last summer and next season is guaranteed, so if he were let go the Kings would be paying him anyway.

Whatever the Kings' roster looks like heading into next season, Christie will be coaching it.

Q&A

Why is Doug Christie being retained as the Kings' head coach?

Doug Christie is being retained because the Kings' struggles are attributed more to roster construction than coaching, and he has support from the team's owner and fan base.

What challenges did the Sacramento Kings face this season?

The Sacramento Kings faced significant challenges, including injuries to key players and a roster overhaul following De'Aaron Fox's trade demand, leading to a disappointing 22-win season.

What is Doug Christie's contract situation with the Kings?

Doug Christie signed a three-year contract last summer, with next season guaranteed, meaning the Kings would incur costs if they decided to let him go.