Doug Christie provides honest explanation about being on hot seat for Kings

Doug Christie provides honest explanation about being on hot seat for Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO — The more the Kings lose, the more the big-picture questions arise.

The Kings fell to 1-11 in a 120-107 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at Golden 1 Center, extending their franchise-record home winless streak to seven games to begin the 2026-27 NBA season.

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To be sure, expectations weren’t high surrounding Doug Christie’s team coming in. General manager Scott Perry has made it clear his team is in early stages of a multi-season rebuilding project around promising rookie Darius Acuff Jr.

But Sacramento has the second-worst record in the NBA –– only the 1-12 Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks are worse –– and currently is on pace to finish with seven wins, worse than the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who had the worst 82-game record in NBA history at 9-73.

That futility has led to a swelling conversation about the immediate future of Kings coach Doug Christie, who is 23-70 since having the interim tag removed from his title before last season.

Christie was asked Friday about that conversation and if he feels the growing pressure as the Kings dropped their fifth straight.

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“I think the seat is hot, always,” Christie said. “The nature of this business, it’s all about winning. So that’s where you think the seat is always hot.”

Christie’s answer reflected a sense of urgency that any NBA coach could relate to. But he also knows he’s the Kings’ eighth head coach since the current ownership group headed by Vivek Ranadivé assumed control in 2013.

Christie had a front-row seat to the firing of Mike Brown in December 2024, just less than two seasons after being voted as the unanimous coach of the year and helping end the Kings’ 17-year NBA playoff drought, the longest in league history. Brown, of course, won a championship last season with the New York Knicks.

Christie was an assistant on Brown’s staff, and leaped a handful of Brown assistants for the head job after Brown was fired while on the way to the airport to travel to a road game against the Los Angeles…

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Publish date : 2026-11-13 23:27:00

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