The passing of former Sacramento Kings' head coach Rick Adelman has reminded fans of the last time their team was honestly good. It's also highlighted how much work Doug Christie needs to do to be even a competent coach. But he needs to do that his way, and not how Adelman did it.
At this point, Christie only has one full season as the Kings' head coach. To be fair to the man, it's his only season as a head coach in the NBA period. He's as much of a rookie as several of the basketball players he's working with. And the jury is still out on whether he's the right guy for the rebuild.
Even if you're being generous, the 2025-2026 season did not go well for the Kings. They finished with a record of 22 wins and 60 losses, making them 14th in the Western Conference. It was their second-worst record since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985. That's not a good look.
Christie takes a lot of hits from critics
A lot of people put the blame on Christie's shoulders, and they have a point. He seemed inflexible in his strategies, even when they weren't working, and was often at odds with his own players. This was particularly an issue with veterans like Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis.
Christie was also in a rather untenable position. He was handed a massively imbalanced roster that was missing a lot of key pieces and was not destined to do well. On top of that, the Kings suffered a seemingly endless barrage of injuries that prevented them from finding a rhythm.
While some players didn't like his coaching style, young stars like Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, and Dylan Cardwell have formed a bond with him. Precious Achiuwa and Russell Westbrook also seemed to enjoy working with Christie and have made it clear they want to continue.
Christie isn't Adelman and doesn't need to be
While there are a lot of legitimate criticisms of Christie's coaching style, he may also be building something. The franchise, the fans, and the media need to give him a chance to see where this is going. Just keep in mind that success won't be as immediate as it was with Adelman.
When Adelman joined the team, he was a far more experienced head coach. He had already spent nearly a decade as the head coach of the Blazers and the Warriors. Adelman knew the job. It also didn't hurt that the Kings weren't in as terrible a place as they were when Christie took over.
Christie might not be a great head coach now, but he has the potential to grow into the role. When he gets to that point, he's going to be a lot different than Adelman and that's a good thing. For Christie to succeed, he's got to do it his way, whether it makes sense from the outside or not.
