Scott Perry Addresses Doug Christie's Future With Kings

Are the Sacramento Kings committed to Doug Christie as their head coach?

Dec 23, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie reacts after a play against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Last season, the Sacramento Kings made a surprising decision to fire head coach Mike Brown and promoted Doug Christie to replace him. As a former Kings player himself, Christie was expected to be able to connect with his team and make improvements all around.

However, Christie's tenure in Sacramento had gotten off to a rocky start. This season, the Kings are just 12-42 through 54 games, and there is reason to doubt Christie's future as the franchise's head coach. Kings general manager Scott Perry put those doubts to rest, though, as he assured that Christie's job was safe.

"I'm expecting him to be my coach until I tell you anything different," Perry said. "I'm not even thinking along those lines right now. I want to see us get incrementally better each day. Our young players, and I want to see [Christie] continue to improve as a coach. So, yeah, I'm not here to talk any more about Doug's plight other than behind him, and I expect him to continue to grow and improve and be the coach here for the Kings."

Doug Christie's future in Sacramento is safe for now

It is rare in the NBA for a coach to lead a team to the league's worst record and his job be completely safe, but Perry and Christie seem to be on the same page. As long as Christie continues to show improvement, especially next season, then he could have a long-term future in Sacramento.

However, it is worth noting how drastically the Kings have fallen short of their expectations this season. With veterans like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Russell Westbrook on the team, regardless of how well they mesh, the Kings should have more than just 12 wins. Most of the fault falls on the poor roster construction and the players themselves, but some of it has to fall on Christie.

Jan 21, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings Head Coach Doug Christie reacts to a play during the fourth quarter of the game against the Toronto Raptors at Golden 1 Center. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Perry knows the Kings are in no rush to be competitive, as they enter a new era of rebuilding, so keeping Christie around does no harm, even if he is not winning games. However, they are trying to get to a point where they are competing in the playoffs, and even if it takes a few years to get there, they need to make sure they have the right coach leading the team. It is still uncertain if Christie is the right coach for that job.

Perry and the Kings' front office will have some big decisions to make in the future, but for now, they are committed to Christie as their head coach, and after a quiet trade deadline, are also keeping their current core together for the rest of the season.