Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk ‘1,000%’ confused after getting benched
Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk had a private conversation with Doug Christie and listened to his coach’s public comments to the media, but Monk still doesn’t understand why he got benched.
“He just told me he’s trying something new,” Monk said. “That’s basically it, and I said, ‘Yeah, OK, I’ll be ready whenever my name is called.’”
Monk, who was runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2023-24, spoke for the first time since getting benched in an exclusive interview with The Sacramento Bee before Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets. After getting benched in back-to-back losses to the Portland Trail Blazers, Monk entered the game for five minutes in the second half of a thrilling 125-124 overtime victory over the Rockets at Golden 1 Center.
Monk wasn’t expecting to play as he sat in front of his locker about an hour before Sunday’s game. He talked about supporting his teammates and staying ready for his next opportunity, but he admitted to being confused by his coach’s decision.
“One thousand percent,” Monk said. “But it’s not my job to try to figure out why I’m not playing because I deem myself more than the whole, so I’ll just be ready when my name is called.”
Monk tried to sound unbothered, saying “I’ve been in the league long enough where I don’t let this stuff get to me,” but he couldn’t hide his real feelings.
“Everybody knows I want to be out there, especially playing in front of this crowd in Sac, but there ain’t s--- I can do about it,” Monk said.
Kings fans gave Monk a huge ovation when he entered Sunday’s game with 4:45 to play in the third quarter. Monk only played for five minutes, but he scored on a driving layup to cut Houston’s lead to eight as the Kings rallied from a 14-point deficit to end a five-game losing streak.
Before the game, Christie answered a number of questions about his decision to bench Monk. Christie talked about the “logjam” in Sacramento’s backcourt, saying Monk is the “odd man out” in a “numbers game” associated with his decision to play Keon Ellis.
Christie ended up calling on Monk instead of Ellis in the second half after Ellis fouled Rockets guard Reed Sheppard on a 3-point attempt with 0.9 seconds remaining in the first half.
“There’s a lot of challenges,” Christie said. “You can’t play everybody. It’s just the nature of what it is. This isn’t participation. It’s professional sports, and right now we have a logjam, but everyone is in play. If someone isn’t playing great, there’s a really good chance someone else is going to play. If someone isn’t playing to our standard of competitiveness, of all the different things that we value, then obviously there’s a strong possibility that they’re going to come out of the game.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
