Malik Monk's Honest Doug Christie Statement After Four-Game Win Streak

Malik Monk reveals why the Sacramento Kings have seen success under interim head coach Doug Christie.

Dec 30, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie (right) is congratulated by guard Malik Monk (left) after defeating the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings have won four consecutive games for the first time this season, breaking their six-game losing streak in style. Their four-game win streak has propelled them up to 11th place in the West, as they sit just one-and-a-half games behind 8th place with much of the regular season still to play.

If the Kings ultimately make a playoff run, everyone will look back at the moment when the Kings fired head coach Mike Brown and promoted Doug Christie to interim.

While interim head coaches rarely actually work in the NBA, Christie is 4-1 through five games since taking over, completely shifting the tide in Sacramento and giving the team some life after such a horrendous start.

Jan 5, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie claps along the sideline during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

It is hard to dissect why the Kings are performing so much better under Christie than Brown, the 2023 NBA Coach of the Year, but Malik Monk gives his honest answer to that question.

"We bought into what [Doug Christie] is doing," Monk said. "We all just bought into it right now. We all feel good and confident in what he's saying. He is a player. He played before so I think he knows how to say it to us a little better than people that didn't play the game before."

Malik Monk talks about the his Kings jumping out of the gate in a big way in tonight's 30 point win over the Warriors, doing so without De'Aaron Fox, seeing the defensive effort from Keon Ellis and Devin Carter & seeing his team buy into what Doug Christie is preaching. pic.twitter.com/D88W4j05DL

— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) January 6, 2025

Not only is Christie a former player, but he was a difference-maker for the Kings in the early 2000s. Christie played a huge role in Sacramento's path to the 2002 Western Conference Finals, making it easier for him to relate to his players as a head coach than many others in that position.

It is interesting how Monk compared Christie directly to coaches who are not former players, like Mike Brown, implying that the Kings are simply responding better to their new coach.

The Kings host the Miami Heat on Monday with an opportunity to extend their win streak to five games.

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