SACRAMENTO ― The Sacramento Kings have dropped another game and if you think head coach Doug Christie is worried about being in some kind of hot seat, he's not. And he shouldn't be.
It's a familiar position for Christie, who's been dealt a bad hand since his head coaching tenure began. He inherited a then-Mike Brown team that was a season removed from the postseason before eventually trading its franchise player, De'Aaron Fox. They finished 40-42, Christie went 27-24 as interim, having taken over after a 13-18 start.
Last season, as an official first-year coach, without the interim tag, multiple players in his projected lineup, including Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray, missed large portions of the season, and the Kings finished with its worst
record in franchise history since moving to Sacramento at 22-60.
And now, the Kings are having one of the worst starts in franchise history, dropping to 1-11 after their Friday night loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, 120-107, on Nov. 13 during the NBA Cup. It's the worst start since the 1990-91 season, in which that team started 1-13.
"I think this seat is hot always, so it doesn't really matter," Christie told USA TODAY about potentially being in the hot seat. "Obviously, we want to win games. Nobody wants to win more than me, from the standpoint that the record doesn't go on the player's numbers. The record goes on coach's number."
When Scott Perry became Kings general manager in April 2025, one of his first moves was to sign Christie to a three-year deal, worth about $2 million per year with a team option in the final year, 2027-28. Christie remained leading the charge after coaching to the worst franchise record in team history since 2008-2009 (17-65), asPerry attributed that tumultuous season to injuries, according to The Athletic.
It's much of the same this season, with a season-ending injury to Ben Simmons and second-year center Maxime Raynaud missing the start of the season with a knee injury.
"We come in, continue to teach, continue to push," Christie said. "As we get all these guys back and get them healthy, and then we continue down the path of trying to put together what we thought we would be putting together when we started this process."
It's not Doug Christie's fault, Mike Bibby says
The Kings are reportedly hesitant to part ways with Christie, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick. Former Sacramento Kings legend and current Sacramento State head coach Mike Bibby sat front row to get a witness of the the beatdown handed to the Kings.
The former guard, who played in Sacramento from 2001-2008, showed support for his former teammate, saying he wasn't the one to blame during a postgame appearance with Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on NBC Sports California.
"I don't blame Doug (Christie)," Bibby said. "I don't think Doug is the problem. Doug's been there for a long time, I think Doug could help, but getting rid of Doug's not the problem."
However, Bibby did say it was "time for some changes". Although he wasn't sure where those changes needed to come from, he advised the team to trade guys like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Malik Monk to put them in better positions while the Kings start over. It happened to Bibby in his day when the Kings were no longer winning and they traded him to the Atlanta Hawks in 2008.
"When I was here I didn't wanna leave, but it was time to go," Bibby said. "For those guys put them in good situations like Sabonis, LaVine, put them in situations that could help them and get some good stuff back. It's going to take a couple of years to get the Kings going again."
Kings' message to the fans
If there's one thing Christie knows, it's how hard the Sacramento fans go for the Kings. He's experienced it as a player, and as both assistant and head coach he's seen how they've stuck beside the team through multiple years of losing seasons and the breakthrough when they finally cracked the postseason after a 16-year drought.
Christie's message to the fans: "it won't always be like this."
"This is a process that we're going through to try to get to where we want to go, and their loyalty means everything," Christie told USA TODAY. " When I see them around town, they're always (saying) 'coach keep going, keep pushing,' and that's what I do every day. I'll always be the first one in the building, working until we figure this thing out."
Kings forward Keegan Murray had a similar message to the fans to keep supporting, despite the shortcomings.
"I love our fans. They've been great to us... to me. I appreciate them coming out to support, we know that Rome's not built in a day but at the end of the day we're trying," Murray told USA TODAY. "With their support, it'll only get better."
Murray, Sabonis and Monk are the few Kings players that have been around for their lone playoff appearance in the last 15 years. Murray often tells the team, especially Acuff who was down in the dumps after a recent home loss, about how loud Golden 1 Center can get when their team is rolling.
"When we're really good, this place is better than any arena in the NBA," Murray said. "I feel like that's a big motivating factor in what we're trying to get to. ... I'm just hoping we can get back on track."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kings head coach Doug Christie gets brutally honest about job security
