Doug Christie Emphasizes Kings' Keys to Success After Win vs. Jazz

Doug Christie picked up his first win as the Sacramento Kings' full-time head coach on Friday.

Apr 11, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

This one had to feel good for Doug Christie. The Sacramento Kings entered the win column for the first time this season, beating the Utah Jazz in a low-scoring 105-104 win on Friday night. This is Christie’s first win as head coach since having the interim label removed and inking a multi-year contract in the offseason. 

Sacramento was led by Zach LaVine’s 31 points, but received solid contributions across the board. Domantas Sabonis notched a double-double in his first game back from a hamstring injury. Dennis Schroder overcame a rough first quarter to post a solid 17/5/3 line, highlighted by some great defense to seal the win. Malik Monk appears to be back in Sixth Man of the Year form, posting 20 points in 21 minutes. Keon Ellis did Keon Ellis things, posting three steals in just 17 minutes. 

Team-over-everything mentality

“This is what we need on a night-to-night basis,” Christie said about the team’s balanced effort. “It’s not always going to be pretty, but it has to be team over everything.”

Doug Christie on Malik Monk, Domantas Sabonis, Russell Westbrook and the Kings’ first win of the season. pic.twitter.com/WTVJ6dl19G

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) October 25, 2025

This is very true. Say what you will about the roster and its shortcomings, but they have plenty of players who can put the ball in the basket. 

Contributions across the board will help those nights when LaVine or DeMar DeRozan have off nights. This was precisely the case in this game, as DeRozan had just seven points on 3/9 from the field. When one of them is off, the depth will need to step up as it did tonight. 

"I think one of the signs that a team is starting to come together is that you win ugly games," Christie said. "This one was a team win."

Defensive effort is key

Defense will also be very important on those nights when the key offensive engines are not putting up their usual numbers. Doug took a lot of pride in holding Utah to just 104 points tonight. While the Jazz are still young and inexperienced, their talent is undeniable. 104 points is quite the drop from their 130-point drubbing of the Los Angeles Clippers (one of the better defensive teams in the league) in their opener, too. 

"This team scored 130 points against a really good defensive Clippers team. For us to come in and hold them to three 20-point quarters and only one 30-point quarter just signifies that it's possible. You can do it," Christie continued. "Now, the consistency with which you approach that is gonna be the most important piece to the puzzle."

Oct 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie gestures from the sideline during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Sacramento was significantly outrebounded (50-33 with 11-5 OREBs), but was able to keep the field goal attempt battle nearly even while winning the turnover battle (19 Jazz TOs to just 13 for Sacramento). Since size is clearly going to limit their rebounding ability — even more so against teams that run jumbo lineups like the Jazz — the Kings will need to create extra possessions in other ways, like they did with turnovers tonight.  

After praising the team’s defensive effort tonight, Christie emphasized that this cannot just be a one-off performance on that end of the ball. 

Sacramento has a very difficult opening schedule, with ten of their next 11 games coming against playoff teams. Two of those games come against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and two come against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who the Thunder beat in the Western Conference Finals. With this gauntlet of a schedule coming up, Sacramento needs to take advantage of the games against younger, less established opponents. 

The Kings have a chance to build on this momentum when they are back in the Golden 1 Center against the Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James on Sunday night at 6 PM PST.