Doug Christie Challenges Kings to Be NBA’s Best in This Area

One thing was clear on the first day of Sacramento Kings training camp: this team is going to run.

Running time! pic.twitter.com/uCR3FIZPg0
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) September 30, 2025

We've heard this before in Sacramento, most notably in De'Aaron Fox's second season in 2018-19 when Dave Joerger led an upstart Kings team to 39-43. That team ran, and ran, and ran. It didn't matter if it was a make or a miss, but they took the ball and ran with it.

Now we fast forward seven years, and the same talk about running and pace is back. But it's a little different this time.

Doug Christie has a clear vision for this team. He wants them to become a defensive team that gets out in transition. That's more intricate than him just saying he wants the team to get out and run. He wants everything to start with the defensive side of the ball and create opportunities in transition.

Christie doesn't just want the team to run, he wants them to hound teams on defense, picking up 94 feet as much as possible. That's an extremely hard task for 48 minutes, but Christie is making sure his team is ready for the assignment.

Mar 22, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie gestures during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

After the first day of training camp, he reiterated the goal that he and Scott Perry came up with for the season. "Our narrative from myself and Scott [Perry] is we're going to be the best conditioned team in the NBA. One of the top ones for sure," Christie stated.

"Trying to figure out, and them buying into that is a message they've received since I took over and Scott was the general manager. It's just all about us being willing to give of ourselves. And it's tough man, conditioning is not for everybody. And then being in the conditioning to be the best conditioned team in this league definitely isn't for everybody. But it's what a Sacramento King is about."

Doug Christie talks about wanting the Sacramento Kings to be the most well conditioned team in the NBA, and the leadership from Dennis Schroder, at day 1 of training camp. pic.twitter.com/gj8kSOnK5O
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) September 30, 2025

Those are strong words from the first-year head coach, but they encapsulate everything Christie showed during his playing days and his hard work to get this opportunity to coach the Kings.

During media day yesterday, Christie talked about his plans to run a ten-man rotation, in part due to his asking players to play so hard for the stints that they are in the game. After the first day of practice, it seems clear why the rotation might be upwards of ten players.

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And it's the first hint that the Kings having so many guards on the team might not be as bad of a roster construction as we all thought. All offseason, there was talk of the Kings having too many guards, and with Malik Monk on the trading block, it seemed like one would be traded.

But now as the season gets underway, they have multiple players they can turn to if someone gets tired from picking up full court or repeatedly getting out in transition.

That 2018-19 season always felt like a bit of a fluke. The Kings had young, fast players, but when the game slowed down, they struggled. This team, though, is filled with veterans and all-stars who can still thrive in a half-court setting. They can get stops and get out in transition, but they have other answers if that isn't working (at least theoretically).

Even if it doesn't translate to wins this year, Christie is going to do his best to build those defensive habits that lead to transition. There's a lot of talk about running, but it's so much more than that. It's a base, culture, and identity that's been talked about all offseason long.

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