Doug Christie Rips Kings Players in Profane Rant After ‘Shameful’ Blowout Loss

Liam McKeone | Nov 13, 2025

Doug Christie was furious after the Kings lost by 30 on Wednesday night. / Kings on NBC Sports Californi

The Kings have not done well to kick off the 2025–26 NBA season and their most recent slide sent coach Doug Christie into a tirade.

Entering Wednesday night Sacramento was on a three-game losing streak in which the average margin of defeat was 24 points. Then the Kings took the floor against the Hawks and got blown out yet again, losing by 33. Christie, in his first full year at the helm after taking over as interim head coach for the fired Mike Brown last season, was disgusted by his players’ effort and made that clear in his postgame press conference.

Christie opened his media availability by ripping the Kings for their “shameful compete level,” saying he could have done better at 55 years old if he was able to put on a jersey. He demanded they have some pride when representing the city of Sacramento on the court and stated, in no uncertain terms, he believes the fans were “f---ing embarrassed” of the product.

“You’re professionals,” Christie said. “You signed up for this. This league is hard. With that being said, this is only game 12. There’s a lot of basketball to be played. You’ve demonstrated that you can do this. You played against Oklahoma City and competed at a high level. You went into Milwaukee and beat them. You’ve competed against really good teams. Make no mistake about—all these teams, Minnesota, Western Conference finals. OKC, Western Conference finals, eventual champion. Denver Nuggets, semifinals. These are really good teams.

“But ain’t nobody checking for that. You’re going to have to play your way out of it. Period. If you’ve ever been to any gym, rec, hood, anywhere, get ran off the court and see if you get some respect. I’ve been to all of them. And I’ve taken butt-whoopings. That’s part of it. But you know what I do do? I’mma comeback. Nah. That ain’t it. You are not going to represent the Sacramento Kings [like that]. Not while I’m here. You know how that goes. I’m a realist. It’s part of our business. But nah. Put on a jersey, represent it properly.

“These people need to come into the turnstiles and they need to be proud of the product when they leave here that they see, not f---ing embarrassed. Unacceptable. Period. It is. This a simple one. This ain’t even hard... I don’t need to look at no tape. Probably won’t look at it. I’ve seen it once live. Damn if you want to look at it again. But I will.”

"Put on the jersey, represent it properly."

Doug Christie didn't mince words after tonight's blowout loss pic.twitter.com/lxulNE18TU

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 13, 2025

It’s a fiery rant from the longtime NBA player and former King. But one that will resonate with the fanbase. There are some nights where a team is going to get run off the court regardless of their best efforts, yet it only really stings if it’s obvious the players aren’t giving it their all. That’s been the case in Sacramento for the last few games.

The trouble for Christie is that, even with an increased effort, it’s hard to see how the Kings can win games. With the first 10-game stretch of the year in the books Sacramento ranks 25th in offensive rating and 27th in defensive rating. The Kings are 3–9. The core of Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan doesn’t lack in talent but their talents do not complement each other very well.

Christie's rant was deserved based on the effort shown on the court. But it’s unlikely to turn anything around given the flaws inherent in the construction of the roster.

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