Report: Doug Christie will return as Kings head coach next season

With an important offseason ahead for the Sacramento Kings, the organization has made it clear that it will be sticking with Doug Christie as head coach for 2026-27.

According to The Athletic‘s Sam Amick, Christie will remain head coach of the Kings moving forward, even on the heels of a lackluster season that was ravaged by injuries and a work-in-progress roster that will see more changes in the coming months.

First-year general manager Scott Perry’s 2025 NBA Draft picks Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford, along with the undrafted Dylan Cardwell, thrived this season under Christie, while second-year guard Devin Carter has also played well during the final stretch of the season.

Christie’s shorthanded roster, without the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Zach LaVine, and De’Andre Hunter, has posted an 8-9 record over their past 17 games entering Sunday’s regular-season finale.

Sources: Despite the Kings’ brutal season, and amid league-wide speculation that they might make a coaching change, Doug Christie is safe.

Why the Kings chose to keep him at the helm for next season, and where they go from here, at @TheAthletic https://t.co/gXKSPoCXbp

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 12, 2026

More on Kings head coach Doug Christie

It’s been a tough season for Doug Christie and the Kings, but it’s somewhat unfair to fully pin the team’s shortcomings on the first-year head coach.

Christie, a fan favorite from his playing days with the early-2000s Sacramento teams, opened his first season as head coach on an interesting note, one that featured passionate, emotional pre-and post-game interviews amid a slow start that saw the Kings lose 13 of their first 16 games.

As time rolled on, Sacramento’s struggles continued, but Christie toned down his emotions in press conferences and began to put an emphasis on working with younger players on the roster, like Raynaud, Clifford, Cardwell, Carter, and two-way guard Daeqwon Plowden.

Raynaud, the 42nd pick in last year’s draft, will likely be a member of one of the NBA’s two All-Rookie Teams, while Clifford and Carter shook off rough starts to the season and have ended their 2025-26 campaigns on high notes.

Christie never coached a game this season in which Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray played together, underscoring the number of injuries he had to deal with in his first year as head coach.

Sabonis (19 games), Murray (23 games), LaVine (39), and Hunter (2) played sparingly for Sacramento this season due to injury, with Sabonis (knee), LaVine (hand), and Hunter (eye) all having been ruled out for the season since February.

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

At 22-59, Sacramento is in a strong position to secure a top-five pick in a loaded 2026 NBA Draft, which could give Doug Christie a franchise-altering talent that can be paired with an impressive group of young talent that Perry hand-picked last summer.

Christie, 55, will enter the final guaranteed year of his three-year contract with the Kings (a team option for 2027-28), giving Perry and the front office a chance to further evaluate the former All-Defensive guard’s coaching performance before making a long-term decision.

Since taking over as interim head coach in December 2024, following the firing of former head coach Mike Brown, Doug Christie has compiled a 49-83 (.371) record in 132 games.

When is the next Sacramento Kings offseason date of interest?

The Sacramento Kings will now look ahead to the highly anticipated NBA Draft Lottery, which is set for Sunday, May 10th.

Sacramento hasn’t secured the top pick in the NBA Draft since 1989, when it selected center Pervis Ellison with the first overall selection.

Be sure to stay locked in to Sactown Sports 1140 all offseason for NBA Draft Lottery coverage, NBA Draft previews and analysis, NBA Summer League content, and MUCH more!

More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports

• Christensen: Tanking isn’t in Doug Christie’s DNA
• NBA salary cap expert advises against stretching Zach LaVine’s contract
• Slater: Kings’ ‘tanking’ controversy was just a coaching mistake
• Jerry Reynolds: Kings need to prioritize talent over fit in the NBA Draft

Upcoming Sacramento Kings & NBA Offseason Schedule

• Tuesday, April 14th – NBA Play-In Tournament begins
• Saturday, April 18th – NBA Playoffs begin
• 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

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