Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry and coach Doug Christie are trying to pick up the pieces after a season of chaos caused their predecessors to lose their jobs, but so far fate and misfortune seem to be conspiring against them.
The Kings are missing their two most irreplaceable starters as they prepare to face the Phoenix Suns in Wednesday’s season opener at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. Domantas Sabonis will miss at least two games with a strained hamstring and Keegan Murray will miss at least four weeks with a thumb injury.
“The road to success if full of potholes and always under construction,” Christie said. “This is not going to be a simple, easy fix.”
Christie knows nothing will come easy after witnessing the rise and fall of the Kings. He was a key player at the height of Sacramento’s success under former coach Rick Adelman at the turn of the century.
The Kings became a global phenomenon with a group that featured Christie, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Bobby Jackson. They became championship contenders during a run of eight consecutive playoff appearances from 1999-2006, but they fell short after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in a controversial seven-game series in the 2002 Western Conference finals.
“I always told you guys I’m here for unfinished business, so for me there’s a passion and a responsibility in many ways to get to where I know we can be,” Christie said.
Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie prepares for the Phoenix Suns at Golden 1 Center in last season’s final regular season game. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com
Perry believes Christie, entering his first full season as Kings head coach, is the right man for the job.
“I can think of no better ambassador for this team and this community than Doug,” Perry said. “… His love and passion for this community, having worked with him every day now for the past six months, you just see it, you feel it, you hear it in his voice.
“He wants to bring, as I do, and everybody here in this building wants to bring a sustainable winner to this organization. He lived it. He was a big part of it, along with his teammates years ago that made the Sacramento Kings one of the top teams in the league, so Doug is a guy that’s committed to making that happen today.”
Early schedule
Former Kings coach Mike Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year after the Kings won 48 games to secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference in 2022-23, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
Brown was fired last year after the Kings went 13-18 to start the season. He is now coaching the New York Knicks, who will visit Golden 1 Center on Jan. 14.
The Kings went 40-42 with a 20-21 record at home last season. They finished ninth in the Western Conference and failed to reach the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament for the second year in a row.
Christie took over as interim coach when Brown was fired in December. Perry was hired when the organization parted ways with general manager Monte McNair following a play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Sacramento Kings general manager Scott Perry introduces head coach Doug Christie during a press conference at Golden 1 Center in May. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
The Kings want to improve on last year’s finish, but the odds are stacked against them. The BetMGM online sportsbook currently has the over/under on Sacramento’s win total set at 35.5.
The Kings will return to Sacramento following Wednesday’s game in Phoenix to face the Utah Jazz in Friday’s home opener at Golden 1 Center. They will play host to Luka Doncic and the Lakers on Sunday.
Christie has emphasized the importance of playing well at home.
“We want to protect home court,” Christie said. “We want fans to know when they come into this gym, they’re going to see something that makes them proud. You’re not always going to win the game, but they know what they’re going to get when our team puts on a Sacramento Kings uniform.”
The early schedule will be daunting, especially with Murray out of the lineup. Over the first 18 games, the Kings will play the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves three times apiece. They will also face the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies.
Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) center Domantas Sabonis (11) and guard Devin Carter (22) walk to the bench during a timeout as they trail the Dallas Mavericks during an NBA play-in game at Golden 1 Center on April 16. PAUL KITAGAKI JR. pkitagaki@sacbee.com
Dealing with adversity
The Kings have already learned a lot about Christie’s approach to adversity.
“Doug was a player,” LaVine said. “He was able to deal with adversity in his career, and I think he’s going to be just as fine with doing it as a coach as well. He’s a player’s coach. He knows how to talk to guys. Guys respect him and his voice, so it’s nothing new.”
Christie is stressing a next-man-up mentality with Sabonis and Murray out due to injuries.
“It will be interesting because this is our first thing that’s hit us in the mouth as far as someone getting hurt and one of our starters down, trying to see how the guys respond to that,” Christie said. “Me, I’ve played or been around this game pretty much my whole life, so I know what you have to do. You’ve got to go play extremely hard and get after people, hold each other accountable. You can’t have excuses. This is not an excuse-driven business.
“It doesn’t matter who’s out there in the uniform. You have to figure it out. That’s what we want to see from our guys. That is the plan because that goes along with playing to your identity. Don’t worry about who’s out there. This is how we play. Based on that, you start to establish your identity, and all of a sudden this is what it means to be a Sacramento King.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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Jason Anderson
The Sacramento Bee
Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.
