Sacramento Kings officially announce Doug Christie as head coach: "Unfinished business"
SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento Kings have made it official: Former player and interim coach Doug Christie will get his shot as head coach.
On Thursday, the Kings posted to their social media profiles a graphic of Christie with the caption "Here to stay."
Then, on Friday, Christie and the Kings held their first press conference.
"You heard me say it before, but I have – we have – unfinished business," Christie said. "That is my mindset going into what we're approaching right now."
Christie stepped in as interim head coach this past season after Sacramento parted ways with Mike Brown.
His stint as interim coach must have impressed the team, going 27-24 with an NBA playoffs play-in appearance, as reports surfaced earlier this week that Christie and the Kings were finalizing a head coaching contract.
Doug Christie's royal pedigree
Longtime Kings fans are well-acquainted with Christie.
The Seattle native's 15-year NBA career saw him play for a number of teams, starting with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1993.
Christie's best years were arguably his stint with the Kings from 2000-04, however, where he was an integral part of Sacramento's "Greatest Show on Court" starting five: Chris Webber, Jason Williams, Peja Stojaković, Vlade Divac, and Christie.
Christie's last NBA appearance as a player was with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2007.
Christie's post-playing career
After his retirement, Christie worked as a color commentator on NBC Sports for Sacramento Kings broadcasts starting with the 2018-19 season.
Christie then rejoined the Kings organization in 2021, this time as an assistant coach.
Aside from his time as an assistant, Christie has no other coaching experience at either the pro or college level.
To rebuild (or not)
Christie is taking the reins of a Kings team that appears both built to compete and yet also poised for a rebuild.
The Kings traded away star De'Aaron Fox partway through the 2024-25 campaign. They landed Zach LaVine in the trade, forming a core trio with DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, and managed a winning record over Christie's interim stint. However, Sacramento ended up getting knocked out of the NBA playoffs in the play-in game.
Christie will be working under a new general manager as well, with longtime NBA executive Scott Perry being hired shortly after the season ended.
