Sacramento’s season didn’t exactly go how the Kings wanted. They went in thinking playoffs were realistic, and even a straight-up return to the 2023 version of this team would be enough.
Instead, the 22-win, injury-riddled Kings are 15 games out of even the No. 10 seed and—again—looking toward the NBA Draft Lottery for luck. And for a coach trying to keep his job on the road, that’s usually not a great sign.
But Misryoum newsroom reported that Doug Christie will not be the one paying for it. Multiple reports indicate Christie is expected to be retained as Sacramento’s head coach, with Sam Amick of The Athletic being first. There are a couple of reasons floating around, and they mostly circle back to one idea: this mess doesn’t look like it’s mainly on coaching.
One point Misryoum editorial desk noted is that the Kings’ struggles seem far more tied to roster construction than strategy or game plans. More than one person around the league has told NBC Sports that, essentially, they don’t know how good Christie is because the talent he had to work with was, well, complicated. Christie took over midseason in 2025, after Mike Brown was fired just after Christmas. Then, not long after Christie arrived, a big roster shift kicked off after De’Aaron Fox demanded a trade. So the coaching seat was never exactly stable—actually, it might be the understatement of the year.
This season, Sacramento dealt with injuries to key players, too. And they also looked to start trading veterans and rebuild, which changes the whole “what are we even trying to do right now?” question. Amid that chaos, Misryoum analysis indicates the Kings reportedly liked how young players such as Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford developed under Christie. You could almost hear the building energy shift when those guys got real run—okay, maybe that’s just the usual fan optimism, but the point stands.
There’s also the contract situation, which is the kind of thing teams can’t ignore. Christie signed a three-year contract with the Kings last summer and next season is guaranteed, so if he were let go the Kings would be paying him anyway. Plus, Christie—former Kings player—has reportedly been a favorite of team owner Vivek Ranadive and parts of the Sacramento front office. He’s also popular with the fan base, and that kind of goodwill matters more than people admit.
So whatever the Kings’ roster looks like heading into next season, Christie will be coaching it. And yeah, that still leaves the unanswered question—how much of this turnaround can be forced, and how much has to be built from scratch. For now, though, at least the bench stays set, and somewhere in Sacramento, someone is probably already imagining what the first home game under Christie’s next iteration will sound like. Not sure it’s the smell of popcorn or the static of nerves in the air—but it’s there.