Is the head coach fine with disrupting Sacramento's chances at landing the top overall pick?
The Sacramento Kings sparked new NBA Draft chatter to launch St. Patrick's Day 2026 week. But one with conflicting views.
Their current winning streak looks great on paper, but doesn't look good for draft positioning reasons.
By winning two in a row over the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz, Sacramento got out of the NBA's cellar. Yet that also puts the Kings landing the No. 1 overall pick at risk.
"The teams with the three worst records will have a 52.1% chance of securing a top-four pick and a 14.1% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. The team with the fourth-worst record will have a 48.1% chance of getting a top-four pick and a 12.5% chance of being awarded the No. 1 pick," Kings insider for the Sacramento Bee Jason Anderson wrote after Sacramento's road win over the Clippers. "The team with the worst record can fall no lower than fifth in the draft while the team with the fourth-worst record can fall as far as eighth."
But is head coach Doug Christie doing this on purpose with pulling Sacramento out of the AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer sweepstakes?
Christie got asked after the Jazz game about "tanking" and if he's ever entertained the idea of doing it...even with the league dishing out fines for player participation violations.
"Did we get fined?" Christie began. "Everybody does something different and we've had to process different things. But I know what we do here."
Christie explained further, detailing why he's anti-tanking even if it means not landing the top pick.
"We go out there to play and we go out there to win," Christie said. "Now if they beat you, they beat you."
But he also reminded the Sacramento media that finishing with the worst record in the NBA doesn't guarantee landing the top pick in the draft.
"And I think last year there's a shining example of a team that was supposed to get the number one pick and did not," Christie said, referencing the Dallas Mavericks of last season who ended up taking Cooper Flagg at No. 1 after winning the draft lottery.
Christie then delivered his most blunt take on the word "tanking" populating across the league.
"Just my personal opinion, it hurts [tanking]. And I'm not here to hurt our team. I'm here to help our young men," Christie said.
Sacramento (17-51) takes on the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
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