Doug Christie was named interim coach of the Kings in late December.
The Sacramento Kings are keeping interim coach Doug Christie around for the long haul.
The team announced Thursday it has agreed to a contract with Christie, who took over as the team’s interim coach in late December after then-coach Mike Brown was fired.
here to stay 👑 pic.twitter.com/9UDBlmunFU
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) May 1, 2025
“I’ve known Doug a long time and have been impressed with his leadership, presence, and ability to connect deeply with his players,” Kings general manager Scott Perry said in a statement. “He embodies the core values we believe in — toughness, discipline, professionalism, a defensive mindset, and a selfless, team-oriented approach on offense. Our goal is to support him fully and help set the stage for his long-term success.”
Christie went 27-24 during his time with the Kings and helped them land a spot in the SoFi Play-In Tournament. The Kings lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 seed game and failed to make the NBA playoffs.
It was a disappointing ending to an underwhelming season for the Kings, who fired coach Mike Brown in December and traded star point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio in February. It all led to Sacramento missing the playoffs for the 18th time in 19 seasons, raising questions about the team’s future.
“This is where I want to be,” Christie said after the loss to the Mavs. “You guys know that. I need to finish what I started.”
General manager Monte McNair and the team “mutually parted ways” immediately following that game and Perry was hired as his replacement. Perry said he wanted to come to a quick resolution on the coaching decision, and he did that by keeping Christie in the role.
Sacramento has the fifth-worst record in the NBA since Vivek Ranadive took over as owner in 2013. The team has had five lead executives and nine head coaches — including interim coaches — in that span.
The Kings hope the new team of Perry and Christie brings needed stability to the franchise. The team has a core in place led by Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk.
The team likely won’t have a first-round draft pick as it has a 3.8% chance of moving into the top four in the lottery. Otherwise, the pick will go to Atlanta as part of a previous deal made for Kevin Huerter.
Christie played for the Kings from 2000-05, collecting All-Defensive First Team honors in 2002-03 and Second-Team honors in 2000-01, ’01-02 and ’03-04) while helping Sacramento reach the Western Conference Finals in 2002.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
