Players vote Doug Christie one of the ‘least impressive’ NBA head coaches

In a poll run by The Athletic, Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie was named one of the "least impressive" coaches in the NBA.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

May 6, 2026, 6:03 PM Updated: 6:13 pm

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Watch: Players Vote Doug Christie One Of The LEAST IMPRESSIVE NBA Head Coaches | 9 mins

In each of the last few seasons, The Athletic has conducted a poll among NBA players to gauge their feelings toward players, coaches, and others across the NBA landscape. Both Doug Christie and Domantas Sabonis were mentioned by their peers.

Their first release from the 2025-26 season, which was polled from late February to early April, had Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie receive votes in one of the more critical categories.

When asked, “Which current coach, aside from your own, do you find the least impressive?” Christie’s name was the third-most-mentioned. Of the 100 players who answered the question, 10 percent chose Christie.

Only Washington’s Brian Keefe (22 percent) and Milwaukee’s Doc Rivers (14 percent) received more votes.

Brian Keefe, Doc Rivers, and Doug Christie voted "least impressive" head coach in The Athletic's NBA players poll

While perhaps unsurprising, all three of the top coaches’ teams missed the playoffs by a significant margin and will therefore be crossing their fingers at the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery later this week.

One of the most damming quotes in the piece regarding voting was that it was an anonymous player stating that they “don’t even know who’s coaching the Wizards, but whoever coaches the Wizards.”

Doug Christie is expected to return as Sacramento’s head coach next season, a decision made by general manager Scott Perry. Their roster could look notably different, and how he can develop their incoming lottery talent, as they own the fifth-best odds headed into the drawing, will be an essential part of his job moving forward.

But Christie was not the only King mentioned in the poll, as center Sabonis also received 2.5 percent of the 81 votes cast for “the league’s most overrated player.”

Winning more games, or even being competitive in a healthy number of them, would likely go a long way in how Christie is viewed around the association.

Either way, his players do seem to have a level of respect for the job Christie did in maintaining the locker room amid a 22-60 season, and that holds significantly more weight than anonymous players from other teams, even if the results could be telling.

He will still have to prove he deserves to stick around longer, leaving the upcoming 2026-27 season as a potential turning point for Christie’s future as a head coach in the NBA.

Check out the full conversation at the top of the page or by heading over to the Sactown Sports YouTube channel.

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Upcoming Sacramento Kings & NBA Offseason Schedule

Sunday, May 10th – NBA Draft Lottery
Thursday, June 4th– NBA Finals begin
Thursday, June 25th – NBA Draft (Round 1)
Friday, June 26th – NBA Draft (Round 2)
Tuesday, June 30th – NBA Free Agency negotiation period begins (3 PM PT)
Thursday, July 9th – NBA Las Vegas Summer League begins
Monday, July 13th – Free Agency moratorium ends / signings can become official