Fan-favorite Doug Christie will return to the Kings as an assistant coach under Mike Brown.
The Sacramento Kings have officially come to terms on contracts with three of the assistant coaches who will serve under new head coach Mike Brown. On the shortlist of new names; Jay Triano and Luke Loucks have inked new deals to come aboard, while Jason Anderson of The Sacremento Bee also reports that the Kings will retain second-year assistant coach Doug Christie on Brown’s watch.
Christie served as acting interim head coach last December when COVID-19 swept through the organization and league at large. Christie won his first game as acting head coach on Dec. 16, 2021 in a victory over the Washington Wizards. With only eight players to pull from in a tough match-up, the morale was through the roof as Christie implored Sacramento to “stand up” following his squad’s big win.
Now 52, Christie played for the Kings from 2000-2005, and was one of the pioneering players in what many see as the last great frontier of Sacramento basketball.
“I have unfinished business. I always say that I have unfinished business ever since I’ve come back to Sacramento,” Christie told media when joining the staff last fall. “When you get as close as we got to [winning the NBA Championship], it leaves a hole in you. Those things are difficult to live with, and you have to live with them.”
Coach Christie is known as one of the most emphatic characters on the bench, often showing as much if not more disdain or celebration for his players when they are in action. He brings the refreshing presence of seasoned veteran, and reliability to the team that is palpable from the television screen.
This offseason, expect players to be in the gym with Christie as they continue to build towards a comeback from an abysmal season, and retaining him alongside Brown will bring a hint of continuity to the Kingdom as the coaching tree continues to branch.