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The Sacramento Kings are reportedly finalizing a multiyear deal to promote interim coach Doug Christie to full-time head coach, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday (April 29).
"The Sacramento Kings and interim coach Doug Christie are finalizing a multiyear contract to make Christie the franchise's next head coach, sources tell ESPN. Christie's agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, negotiated a new deal for the Kings' full-time job this week," Charania wrote on his X account.
Christie, 54, who appeared in more games for the Kings (355) than any of the seven teams he played for during his 15-year NBA career, had previously worked as a color commentator for the team prior to being hired as an assistant coach for Mike Brown in 2021 and was promoted to interim head coach following Brown's firing in December 2024.
Sacramento went 27-24 in 51 games with Christie as interim head coach, ranking ninth in offensive efficiency and going 13-10 in clutch-time games, an improvement from its 6-13 record under Brown, according to ESPN Research. The Kings finished ninth in the Western Conference before losing the No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in tournament game to the Dallas Mavericks.
Christie's reported promotion came days after the Kings hired longtime NBA executive Scott Perry as their general manager.
Christie played for the Kings from 2000 to 2005, which included being selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2003 and NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2001, 2002 and 2004. The former shooting guard also had stints with the Los Angeles Lakers (1993-94), New York Knicks (1994-96), Toronto Raptors (1996-2000), Orlando Magic (2005), Dallas Mavericks (2005) and Los Angeles Clippers (2007).