What Does Kings HC Christie Need to Do to Keep his Job?

The Sacramento Kings have put faith in head coach Doug Christie that he can generate improvements from the team's young core heading into the 2026-2027 season.

Last year was a very disappointing season for the Kings, who dealt with multiple serious injuries to key players and managed to win just 22 games.

But, the vibes surrounding the team have risen, as Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine return to full health, and Darius Acuff Jr. takes the reigns as Sac Town's new lead guard.

For Christie, his job security will hinge on the team's ability to put together wins.

On Wednesday, SacTown Sports' Carmichael Dave talked about what he believes is the path for Christie to earn a long-term deal with Sacramento.

Dave said that he thinks the Kings would either need to win 40 or more games, or finish the season on a high note heading into the following offseason.

Winning 40+ games in the Western Conference seems like a reach for this new Sacramento squad, but showing consistent effort and competitiveness will be the meter.

At times last season, players were criticized for lack of energy on the defensive end, and at times, not playing hard at all.

With the additions of players like Emanuel Sharp and Alex Karaban, who come from two of the most-notorious college programs in the country, the culture should improve.

Second-year forward Nique Clifford gave encouraging remarks regarding the level of intensity in the early sessions of training camp earlier this week.

"We've been going at it in training camp," Clifford said. "We've been going hard at each other. If we play like we've been playing at training camp, I feel like it's going to look a lot differently."

The Kings' first preseason game was not a good overall showing, but Clifford shined, leading all scorers with 23 points.

Heading into his second professional season, Clifford has talked about his drive to become a more-versatile player and potentially get some run at point guard behind Acuff.

With the addition of Ben Simmons and Malik Monk's ability to handle the ball, Clifford will likely still see most of his work off-the-ball, but having him playmaking at a higher rate will be a big boost to the Kings' bench unit.

He will also provide much-needed perimeter defense to a unit that will have some growing pains on that end of the floor.

For Christie, his ability to put the right players on the floor to defend and score at a high rate will be key for him proving he is the right man for the job going forward.