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The news broke early Sunday morning Doug Christie will get another shot at coaching the Sacramento Kings. League sources confirmed to The Kings Beat that Christie will remain the team’s head coach heading into the summer following a tumultuous first official season running the Kings. The Athletic’s Sam Amick was first with the news.

After finishing the 2024-25 season with a 27-24 record as an interim head coach following the firing of Mike Brown, Christie’s Kings have posted just a 22-60 record after a loss in the season finale in Portland on Sunday. 

You can’t hide from the overall record. You also can’t hide from the team’s offensive rating (110.5) that ranks 26th in the NBA or the defensive rating (120.2) that ranks 28th in the league. The advanced statistics back up the eye test. 

Injuries played a significant role in the Kings’ current season, with Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine combining to play just 81 games. Murray and Sabonis, the projected starters at the power forward and center position, never played a single game together the entire year. 

A difficult early schedule also sent the Kings in a tailspin that they never managed to recover from.

At 12-44, the Kings had the worst record in the NBA heading into the All-Star break, but they have improved down the stretch under Christie, posting a 10-16 record over their last 26 games.

The shift in record came as the focus transferred to embracing a youth movement down the stretch of the season. Development and support of the team’s young players likely played a role in the decision to retain Christie. His below market value contract also likely played a role in him getting another opportunity. 

There are reasons for a tough season, but at the same time, no one predicted the team going from 40-42 last season to where they are today with an 18 game reduction in victories. 

Here is the latest episode of Locked On, discussing the finale, as well as Christie getting a reprieve.

There is an argument that could easily be made that Christie, based on his record this season, shouldn’t be back next year. The Kings are having one of the most disappointing seasons in their 41 years in Sacramento. The record could speak for itself.

Despite the losses, the young players, including rookies Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell, have shown incredible development. The post All-Star record, while not perfect, has come as the veterans have either exited due to injury or seen reduced roles. 

Christie has connected well with the youth of the team. He has allowed some of the growing pains and stuck with this group as they made mistakes and grew as players.

“I’m very appreciative of Doug Christie,” rookie Cardwell said earlier this week. “He’s been a very honest man. A very honest coach, since I touched down in Sacramento.”

Cardwell spent five seasons at Auburn and never had the type of impact he’s made at the NBA level as a rookie. After averaging 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds over 166 games in college, the 24-year-old big man has posted 5.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in a little less than 21 minutes per game with the Kings. 

“That’s been one of the bigger reasons I’ve been successful this year, had a significant first rookie season, because Doug Christie has given me a lot of grace throughout the year to go out there and fail, and mess up on rotations, and miss layups or miss free throws or miss assignments,” Cardwell said. “He allowed me to play through that because the main thing he wants me to do is play hard and I can’t thank him enough for just the amount of grace he’s given me as a coach. I’ve never had that much grace given to me by a coach in my entire life.”

Clifford and Raynaud both had accomplished college careers before joining Sacramento, but neither were expected to contribute right away at the NBA level. Taken with the 24th overall pick, Clifford has played in 75 games for the Kings, including 28 starts. He’s averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25 minutes per game, but his month to month improvements stand out.

In five games in April, the 24-year-old out of Colorado State is posting 16.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field and 38.5% from three before scoring 24 points in Sunday’s finale. His steady improvement over the season is exactly what you hope to see from a young player and he credits Christie for keeping the team on the right path during a difficult year. 

“He brings a level of positivity to a group that has not gone the way that we wanted it to this season,” Clifford said of Christie. “I’m definitely proud of him and the way he’s been able to handle this season and just keep our group together and connected.”

Raynaud, who fell all the way to the No. 42 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft has turned into a double-double machine and a potential All-Rookie first team selection. The 7-footer out of Stanford has become one of the team’s most consistent players, starting 56 games this season with Sabonis on the shelf.

The 23-year-old Frenchman is the talk of Sacramento, leading all NBA rookies in double-doubles with 18 and rebounds per game. Raynaud is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 boards while shooting 56.9 percent from the field and 30 percent from three, before Sunday’s final game. 

According to Raynaud, Christie’s experience as a former player helped him connect with the team.

“He’s a charismatic leader, so it’s really easy for us to buy into what he has to offer,” Raynaud said. 

Like Clifford, Raynaud’s numbers have jumped dramatically late in the year. Over his last 20 games, Raynaud is averaging 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in over 32 minutes per game. He earned a Western Conference Rookie of the Month award for March and continues to show more aspects of his game. 

Continuity, especially with young players, is crucial. This group now knows that the man who has worked with them all season long will remain in place as they work to improve over the summer. 

Developing young players isn’t simple. A new head coach might not have the same interest in some of these players who Christie has empowered. By keeping him in the fold, there will be a clear plan laid out for each of them with specific aspects of the game that they need to focus on. 

According to Amick, Christie’s contract is for $2 million this season and another $2 million next season with a team option for the following year at a significant raise. This makes Christie one of the lowest (if not the lowest) paid head coaches in the league. 

The reason for this salary likely had to do with the Kings owing Mike Brown $8.5 million this season and next, although the NBA’s offset rules likely took care of that money when Brown signed a 4-year, $40 million contract with the Knicks. Brown’s signing with New York came well after Christie accepted his contract with the Kings.

What this basically means is that Scott Perry and his group have a low cost opportunity to further evaluate Christie as they go through the process of turning over the roster. If he can continue to develop the young players and show progress, he might have a shot of sticking around long term. If the team spins out of control, they have an easy off ramp. 

This also gives Christie an opportunity to show that he can continue to develop players, especially during the offseason. The Kings currently sit in a tie with the Utah Jazz for the No. 4 spot in the NBA Draft lottery and they have two second round selections as well, so player development is going to be paramount for the franchise.

The decision to retain Christie is the first step of what should be an extremely busy summer for the Kings. They know who will coach the team. They know who the front office is. Now the focus shifts to the draft, trades and free agency that will play out over the next couple of months.

The NBA’s Draft Lottery is scheduled to take place on May 10. The NBA’s Draft Combine will begin the next day in Chicago as the ramp up to the June 24-25 NBA Draft starts in full. In a departure from the previous regime, the Kings are expected to host pre-draft workouts as we build toward the draft.

The free agent window opens on June 30, with the new NBA calendar starting on July 1 and the NBA’s moratorium lifting on July 6. Las Vegas Summer League is scheduled to go from July 9-19 with a potential return of the California Classic in Sacramento in the days leading up to Las Vegas. 

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