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Dave McMenamin, ESPN writer
LOS ANGELES — Doug Christie rapped the lyrics to Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” Saturday morning as the song echoed through USC’s Galen Center as he concluded his first shootaround as interim coach of the Sacramento Kings .
More than 30 years after Christie was a rookie with the Los Angeles Lakers, he found himself preparing to face them in his first game since replacing Mike Brown, who was fired Friday afternoon before the team’s flight to the West Coast.
It hasn’t been a good season for the Kings. They entered Saturday in 13th place in the Western Conference with a 13-18 record, having lost five games in a row and 12 of their last 17. And later that night, they lost to the Lakers 132-122.
The change won’t happen overnight, however, and Kings guard Malik Monk, who credited Brown’s “passion” for changing the franchise over the past two seasons, said the move coach resulted in a change of energy in the shooting session.
“All the vibes were high,” Monk said. “Everyone is happy. Everyone is ready.”
Included in that group was All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis. He missed Sacramento’s final game Thursday due to illness, when the Kings failed to protect a 19-point second-half lead in a 114-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Sabonis did not join the team on its flight to Los Angeles, as he was questionable to play due to illness, but arranged his own trip on Saturday morning to be part of the first steps with Christie.
“I came here and walked right on the court,” Sabonis said. “We’re all focused on winning the game. But obviously we know that we haven’t been performing at our best level. And we have to do a better job. I, as one of the leaders of the team, have to make sure that happens. We have to win all the games we can.”
After the Pistons game, Brown criticized another of Sacramento’s leaders, De’Aaron Fox, for fouling Jaden Ivey on a 3-pointer in the final seconds when the Kings led by 3. Ivey hit the 3-pointer and the shot subsequent free kick, which cost the Kings the game.
Before Brown was fired, he coached the Kings’ practice on Friday and was seen chatting with Fox on the court by reporters.
“We were talking about game stuff, what we would do toward the end of games,” Fox said after shootaround. “I definitely didn’t know that that little conversation, which is really normal, would have been the last one with him as head coach.”
Brown was informed of the decision by Kings general manager Monte McNair, who called him when the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year had already left the practice facility to prepare for the flight to Los Angeles.
Sabonis, who said he was sleeping when the decision was made, called it “shocking.” Monk said he found out at X and was also surprised, but added: “It’s the NBA. Anything can happen. So I guess next man up.”
Fox said he was “surprised” but was warned. “I found out a minute before everyone else,” he said.
After Brown signed an extension in the offseason through 2026-27, adding more than $20 million in guaranteed money to what he was already owed, Fox credited the continuity of the Kings organization.
A reporter asked Fox on Saturday if he felt any “pressure or guilt” about the way things fell apart so quickly with Brown.
“Any pressure or guilt? I mean, obviously we all know the job we have,” Fox said. “They can trade you at any time. Release you. Cut you. Fire you. Whatever it is. I mean, I wouldn’t use the word ‘guilt.’ ‘But that’s the nature of the job we have.
“But I mean, obviously, signing his extension this summer, we felt like we’d be together for a lot longer, but that’s the decision they made. But at the end of the day, they’re still paying him too. A big part of being a player in the “NBA, being an NBA coach, those things can happen, but these contracts are guaranteed.”
Christie addressed the team before their flight to Los Angeles and again at the Galen Center. Your message?
“Go out and stick together, fight and just be us, be who we are and change this,” Sabonis said.
And Monk had his own message for Kings fans who watched their team break a 17-year postseason drought in 2023, only to have their coach fired two seasons later.
“Sorry, fans,” Monk said. “Let’s turn it around. That’s it. Short and sweet.”
After Saturday’s loss, with talk still focused on a coaching change, Fox had another quick message for everyone, adding that the Kings “still have a long season left.”
