Hot Seat Meter: Doug Christie's Kings Off to 0-4 Start This Season

The Sacramento Kings have now lost four consecutive games to start the 2026-27 season, and after their 27-point defeat to the San Antonio Spurs, things are only getting worse. Granted, expectations were low for the Kings this season, but the fanbase was at least trying to hold out hope. After four games, nearly all hope is lost.

While it is still very early, we have to start thinking about Doug Christie's future with the franchise. Christie became the Kings' interim head coach 31 games into the 2024-25 season after they fired Mike Brown and was promoted to the full-time position in the 2025 offseason. Last season, he led the Kings to a 22-60 record, and they are obviously tracking to finish even worse this year.

After just four games, Christie is on the hot seat. But how much concern is there for the former Kings guard turned coach?

Doug Christie Hot Seat Meter: 8/10

Oct 10, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie reacts during the first quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Justine Willard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Again, it is very early in the season, as the Kings are just one week removed from opening night, but Christie's job is far from safe. There was already talk over the offseason about a potential coaching change for the franchise, but they stayed committed to Christie. They could already be second-guessing that decision.

Through four games, the Kings have the NBA's third-worst offensive rating and second-worst defensive rating. They are the only team ranked in the bottom three in both categories, and it is easy to point fingers at Christie.

Sure, the Kings are far from the most talented team in the league, and they have been dealing with some key injuries. However, they still have guys like Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, and Domantas Sabonis, who have all had good enough starts to the season. Even if the Kings' shortcomings were not Christie's fault, he will get the majority of the blame.

There were already plenty of questions about whether Christie would ever be a successful coach, and the Kings are not wrong for giving him another chance this season, but it is clear he has no future with the franchise. It would be a bit surprising to see the Kings fire Christie this early, which is why his hot-seat meter is not a full 10/10, but at this rate, we should expect a new head coach by 2027.

“This one’s not on them. I take this.”

Doug Christie took blame for Sacramento’s loss to Memphis:

“I have to be better for them in that moment and as I’m better, they’ll be better as well.” pic.twitter.com/Pf84uWA01O
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 26, 2026

After the Kings' 11-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, Christie shouldered the blame, saying that he has to be better. General manager Scott Perry has expressed his belief in Christie's ability to improve as a head coach, but he might not have as much time to improve as they likely had planned.

A vital road trip

The Kings kicked off a four-game road trip with Tuesday's loss to the Spurs. They still have to face the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks before returning home. As ESPN 1320 Sacramento's Kyle Madson said, if the Kings go winless on this road trip to start the season 0-7, we could already be looking at the end of Christie's tenure.

"I think that if the Kings go 0-4, they'll be the last four games Doug Christie coaches for the Kings."@KyleAMadson thinks change could be coming if the Kings start out this season 0-7 coming back from their road trip ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CKtUmp42Yc
— ESPN 1320 Sacramento (@ESPN1320) October 27, 2026

There has only been one head coach in Kings history who has been fired within the first ten games of a season: Phil Westphal, after starting the 2011-12 season with a 2-5 record. If the Kings start 0-7, it would not be out of the ordinary to make an early decision on Christie, so we will see how this team performs to round out the road trip with his job on the line.

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