The Sacramento Kings are retaining head coach Doug Christie after a brutal first full season in charge, according to reports.
Christie took over for the Kings on an interim basis in December 2024 following the firing of Mike Brown – putting together a respectable 27-24 finish – but fared far worse this year with Sacramento set to finish the season in the cellar of the Western Conference.
Entering Sunday’s season finale against the Blazers, the Kings are 22-59, which is tied with the similarly tanking Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst mark in the league and the worst mark in the West.
However, The Athletic was first to report the news that the Kings would be keeping Christie, who got just 19 games from Domantas Sabonis and 39 from Zach LaVine this season.
Christie, who was given the job on a full-time basis last offseason, did lead Sacramento to a more competitive finish down the stretch as the Kings have gone 8-12 over their last 20 games.
However, he and the franchise were still investigated by the league following a curious late-game decision this past week.
With the Kings leading the Warriors by one point with 3:15 left on Tuesday, Doug McDermott intentionally fouled Golden State’s Seth Curry – a career 86.4 free throw shooter – putting the guard at the line for two shots.
Many saw the play as an egregious tanking offense, as the Kings have been jostling with the likes of the Jazz, Pacers, Nets and Wizards for draft lottery odds,
However, an NBA investigation later cleared Christie and the Kings, explaining that the coach instructed his team to foul because he mistakenly thought his team had a foul to give, and wanted to get in one of his ‘use it or lose it’ timeouts.
Sacramento ultimately fell 110-105 in that contest.
Christie said after a win over the Jazz last month that “tanking is the last thing” he’d do, and he has played veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan heavy minutes for much of the season.
Regardless, the Kings will learn their NBA draft fate when the lottery is held on May 10.
