A big night for Doug Christie! It was only yesterday that the Kings shocked the hoops community by firing Mike Brown amid their five-game losing streak. As a result, Christie will be the team’s interim head coach until that position is filled again. Well, tonight is his big debut. His opponents? The Los Angeles Lakers. Obviously, there is a lot of history there and Christie addressed it ahead of the game.

Of course, Christie knows a thing or two about the LA side because that was the team he started his NBA career with 32 years ago. Yes, he spent his first two seasons with the team before joining the Knicks. Ironically, he also played for the Kings for five years much later in his career, and had an epic rivalry with the Purple and Gold franchise.

Acknowledging the poetic nature of his head coaching debut against the Lakers, Christie said, “It was funny because when I left my room, I always go back and make sure I don’t forget anything. So, I just went back and as I looked, I just looked out the window and was like ‘Wow, yeah.’ This is Los Angeles, there’s a lot of history here. There’s a lot of history in this building, in that hallway.”

“And for it to be this team, yeah, it’s… Wow. It’s big time and for me to be with my team, I mean, we are in Hollywood, so you couldn’t write up a better script, I don’t think,” Doug continued.

Moreover, Christie was looking forward to the outcome of the game. “How it turns out, whether it’s a love story or a horror story, we don’t quite know yet. We’ll find out tonight in a little bit.” And it looks like Doug came prepared for the challenge, as the new boss was highly focused during the team shootaround, while Ice Cube’s iconic track “It was a Good Day” blasted in the gym.

Kings players ‘ready to play’ despite Mike Brown’s sudden firing!

Although the previous boss’s firing came as a big surprise to everyone, the Kings need to move on quickly. That’s because they have a bigger issue to focus on. Well, they are struggling to get wins and have dropped to the 12th spot in the West standings. But with Doug Christie taking charge, there is a new energy in the camp and the team members verified it.

Addressing the big change, Malik Monk said, “All the vibes were high. Everybody is happy. Everybody is ready to play tonight.”

Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis, who was initially questionable for the game, was also hyped to participate in Christie’s first team practice, “I got here and went right onto the court. We’re all focused on winning the game. But we obviously know we haven’t been performing at our best. And we have to do a better job.”

Domas also took accountability and vowed to turn things around. “Me, as one of the leaders of the team, I got to make sure that that happens. We got to win all the games that we can.”

That’s the kind of energy Sactown will need if they want to snap their losing streak. Do you think Doug Christie will shock everyone in his head coaching debut by leading the Kings to their first win against the Lakers this season?