Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie grateful for ‘this beautiful jewel’
Doug Christie needs no introduction in Sacramento, but there was something special about this one.
Kings general manager Scott Perry introduced Christie as the team’s new head coach during a joint press conference Friday at Golden 1 Center.
“You know how I feel about this,” Christie said. “I am humbled, honored and grateful to be sitting beside Scott in this position right now. I want to thank my family. I want to thank Kings leadership, Scott, our players and an incredible fan base for trusting me with this beautiful jewel because that’s how I envision it.”
Christie, who played for the Kings from 2000-05, is still driven by a strong sense of unfinished business 23 years after Sacramento’s NBA championship hopes were dashed by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
“This game will leave a hole in your heart,” Christie said. “It’s difficult. It will take something from you, and the odd thing is it’s the only thing that will fill that void, so with that I accept the challenge, the opportunity, and I’m truly grateful to be sitting here right now.”
The Kings are bringing Christie back on a multiyear contract after he took over as interim head coach when Mike Brown was fired in late December. Sacramento went 27-24 under Christie over the final 51 games of the regular season despite dealing with major roster changes and significant injuries to Malik Monk, Domantas Sabonis and other key rotational players.
The Kings missed the playoffs for the second year in a row after finishing ninth in the West with a 40-42 record, but Christie made a strong impression.
“From afar this season ... I got a chance to observe Doug Christie take over as the head coach here in, quite frankly, what was a very difficult situation,” Perry said. “He did so with class and poise. He had a tremendous presence on the court. I watched him connect with this group of players and that led to some success on the court.
“That connectivity was very obvious to me. Doug, in doing so through this turbulent time, posted a winning record while also improving the team’s offensive efficiency. But above and beyond all of that, Doug Christie embodies the values that I so deeply treasure and appreciate, and what we’re going to build this organization on: professionalism, toughness, discipline, a defensive mindset and a selfless, team-oriented approach on the offensive end of the floor.”
The Kings announced the hiring of Christie just 10 days after they hired Perry to replace Monte McNair as their general manager. Perry said he had “informal conversations” with a number of people regarding the coaching position, but he decided Christie was the right man for the job.
The Kings could have conducted an exhaustive coaching search for a more experienced coach, but they couldn’t have found anyone with Christie’s love, loyalty and devotion to the franchise, its fans and the city of Sacramento.
Perry said Christie’s connection and commitment to the organization was part of the appeal, but that wasn’t all.
“Even if I was somewhere else, to be quite frank with you, this man exhibits the qualities I would want represented in my team,” Perry said. “I think that’s the strongest endorsement I can give to him. Yeah, he’s special to this community, and that’s not lost on me, but above and beyond everything else is the character of the man. It’s the passion he displays for the game. I can tell he’s going to be a coach who is always trying to find answers, learn more about his craft.
“Look, I’m a former coach, and I’m the first to tell him or anybody else, it’s not an easy job. It’s the most second-guessed job in the world probably, but he is made of the type of internal fortitude necessary to navigate those waters. I thought he got a quick baptism by fire this past season, and it showed me a lot.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM.
