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Doug Christie loses interim tag, will be Kings’ full-time head coach
Doug Christie loses interim tag, will be Kings’ full-time head coach
The Sacramento Kings had a shockingly disappointing season last year. This season saw the Kings fire head coach Mike Brown, lose their franchise player De’Aaron Fox, and clean house in the front office. Also, there were no playoffs to show for it for the 18th time in the last twenty years.
Doug Christie was named interim head coach and he led the Kings to a 27-24 record. He was thrust into a tough position with the team spiraling and a big roster shake-up at the NBA Trade Deadline. However, in new general manager Scott Perry’s first big decision, he has chosen to stick with Christie and name him the next Sacramento head coach, according to NBA insider Shams Charania.
This is a big decision for the Kings franchise as there were some big names on the market. Head coaches such as Mike Malone, Taylor Jenkins, Frank Vogel and Sam Cassell were available. Nevertheless, Sacramento chose to keep the head coaching job in-house as they removed the interim tag from Christie.
There were things to like from him last year, such as Sacramento having a winning record in clutch-time games. The 51 games he coached last season could be a huge benefit for him getting his feet wet as a full-time head coach. Now, he will have a whole offseason to build out his coaching staff and prepare the Kings to play the brand of basketball he sees fit.
Doug Christie’s relationship with the Kings:
I believe there were some better and more qualified candidates on the market. However, Doug Christie has been a Sacramento King for life and is beloved in the city. Christie played five years for the Kings where he made four All-Defense teams and was in Defensive Player of the Year conversations twice. These years were Sacramento’s best teams ever where they were a perennial NBA Playoff team including a number one seed and a loss in the Western Conference Finals.
After a long playing career, Christie found himself working in the Kings organization. He was the full-time color analyst for Sacramento from 2017-2021. Next, he became an assistant coach for three seasons on the Kings’ bench before getting promoted to the interim head coach tag.
I think Christie’s hiring makes sense because he is a Kings guy through and through. It is only right that his first shot as an NBA head coach would be with the organization he has been tied to throughout his life. Finally, besides the fans, there might not be a single other person who wants the Kings and Sacramento to return to glory as much as Christie.
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