Kings will bring back coach Doug Christie for a second full season, AP source says
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Doug Christie will return for a second full season as coach of the Sacramento Kings despite the team having one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
A person familiar with the decision said Sunday that Christie will return next season for the second year of a contract that also has a team option for 2027-28. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced the decision, which The Athletic was first to report.
Christie was initially hired on an interim basis after Mike Brown was fired early in the 2024-25 season. Sacramento went 27-24 the rest of the season before getting knocked out in the play-in tournament.
The Kings hired Scott Perry as general manager after last season and made the decision to retain Christie. This season didn’t go nearly as well, with injuries to key veterans like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and DeAndre Hunter derailing the campaign almost from the start.
Sacramento had a league-worst 12-46 record in mid-February following a 16-game losing streak. The team showed some life late in the season, going 10-14 the rest of the way to harm their position in the draft lottery. The Kings finished tied with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the league and have a 45.2% chance of picking in the top four of the draft in June.
The 60 losses for Sacramento are the second-most in franchise history, behind the 65 the team had in 2008-09. The Kings have gotten solid contributions from rookies Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell, but are hoping for good fortune in the lottery to find a player to build around after the team traded away star De’Aaron Fox last season.
The Kings have made the playoffs just once in the past 20 seasons, losing in the first round to Golden State in 2023 in Brown’s first season as coach.
Sacramento has the fourth-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 interims — in that span.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba