Kings HC Shares Blunt Message After 41-Point Loss to Grizzlies

The Sacramento Kings suffered their worst loss of the season on Thursday night, losing by 41 points to a Memphis Grizzlies team that was playing without Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant. The Kings have now fallen to 3-13 on the season on an active eight-game losing streak, and after losing Domantas Sabonis for the next few weeks, they could be in more trouble.

After the crushing 41-point loss, Kings head coach Doug Christie got honest about what his team needs to do to bounce back.

"We have to find the ability to play the right way and play with a level of sense of urgency and energy necessary to win games on a night-to-night basis. It's an absolute must," Christie said. "There's a frustration. These are bad feelings, but we know there is a process that we are going through to get to where we want to go."

Christie has been preaching this "sense of urgency" practically all season, as it seems like his players simply are not trying hard enough. When you do not have a roster filled with All-NBA players, you have to try if you want to win games, and the Kings have been utterly lackluster in that department.

Christie finds silver lining in blowout loss

Despite the loss, Christie was at least happy to see his young guys playing well, especially with Keegan Murray making his season debut after undergoing offseason thumb surgery.

"Really happy with the young guys. Good to see Keegan back out there trying to find his way and his win through his injury. That was huge for him," Christie said.

The Kings' young guys were actually some of their most impactful players on Friday night, as rookie big man Maxime Raynaud impressed as the team's second-leading scorer with 12 points on 6-8 shooting off the bench.

ok rook! 💪 pic.twitter.com/mpb0JUR39d
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) November 21, 2025

Christie was also asked what makes him confident that this team can bounce back.

"I mean, more than anything, there's proof of concept from the standpoint that we've them when they play the right way: When they are handsy, when they're communicating, when they're being physical, when they rebound the basketball, when they share the basketball... I'm talking about consistency," Christie said.

Christie's message stays the same

"We're going to continue to coach them and we're going to continue to coach them to a style of basketball that is Sacramento Kings basketball, period," Christie said. "...They know the message. I mean, what I'm saying to you isn't necessarily what I said to them, but you're not in the locker room, so that's not privy to everybody."

Christie wants his guys to hold each other accountable, and even mentioned how the veterans on the team need to help pull everyone together. Of course, when a team is struggling this much, even the veterans get down on themselves, and it becomes much harder to pull each other out of that hole.

Through their 13 losses in 16 games, Christie's message has remained the same, but nothing seems to be changing. Sure, playing the league's hardest schedule while dealing with injuries has not been ideal, but many have to wonder if Christie is on the hot seat.

Christie finds silver lining in blowout loss

Christie's message stays the same

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