The Sacramento Kings aren’t making a coaching change in the middle of the season, and that’s the line they’re sticking to with Doug Christie. For now, Christie stays put. The bigger question is what happens after that, because the conversation around Sacramento’s next head coach is already starting to shift.
Natalie Nakase is the dream name. She would be the kind of hire that gets people excited, and the appeal is obvious: she knows how to build a winning franchise. But that same success is exactly why the Golden State Valkyries are unlikely to let her walk away.
That leaves another name in the mix, one that has been tied to Sacramento before: Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau has long been viewed as a possible fit for the Kings, and his resume makes the case pretty quickly. Mike Brown was the coach who got them over the finish line, but Thibodeau was a major part of turning the Knicks into the championship team they became. He’s the kind of coach who brings structure, discipline and a clear standard every day.
He’s also got the kind of experience Sacramento would be buying into. Thibodeau has been coaching since 1981, and his run with the Knicks ended after 2024-2025.
That matters for a Kings team that needs more than just another voice on the sideline. It needs someone who can get the roster organized and teach the basics the right way.
That’s especially true with the younger players still learning how to navigate the league. The Kings need fundamentals, accountability and a coach who won’t let anyone drift. Thibodeau fits that mold.
He may not be the guy who takes Sacramento all the way to a championship. The team is too far behind for that, and Thibodeau is almost 70, so he probably wouldn’t be around when the Kings finally got there. But he could give them something they badly need: a foundation built on self-respect and a work ethic that lasts.
In Other News...
Heat Catch Sacramento At The Right Time For A Needed Opportunity
The Kings are trying to steady a season that has gotten away from them early, and a matchup with Miami offers a chance to reset in a hurry. Sacramento enters at 1-8, but the rotation could look a little healthier if Keegan Murray is able to return from injury, while backup center Dylan Cardwell has already given the team a fresh body in the frontcourt after making his season debut.
Miami comes in at 3-6 with no injuries reported, which gives the Heat a cleaner setup for a game Sacramento badly needs to compete in. There is also the added wrinkle of Davion Mitchell coming back to Sacramento in a Miami uniform, a familiar face in a building where the Kings will be trying to show some signs of progress, even if the bigger question is whether they can finally turn a difficult start into something more manageable. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Move On From Recent First Round Pick Shockingly Fast
The Kings wasted little time making their first move of the 2026-27 regular season, sending guard Nique Clifford to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for two second-round draft picks. Clifford arrived as a recent first-round selection and had shown enough as a rookie to look like part of the long-term picture, but his role shrank in his second year before Sacramento decided to move on.
For a team trying to keep reshaping the back end of its roster, the deal suggests the front office is willing to turn a young, recent investment into future flexibility rather than wait for a bigger payoff. It is a quick reversal for a player once viewed as a promising piece, and it leaves the Kings with draft capital in hand while the rest of the roster picture continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Just Sent A Troubling Message About Their Rebuild
The Kings moved on from a young player they had only just brought in during the 2025 draft, sending Clifford to Oklahoma City for two second-round picks. Its the kind of deal that can make sense on paper for a team trying to manage assets, especially when a players role has already started to shrink after a promising preseason.
Still, the timing says plenty about where Sacramento is in its rebuild. Clifford had shown improvement before the games counted, but his regular-season minutes were reduced, and now he lands with a Thunder organization known for developing young talent, while the Kings collect future draft capital and keep sorting out what their own timeline really looks like. [Read more 🡒]