Kings’ Keegan Murray Credits Doug Christie for Team’s Turnaround

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Keegan Murray, the Sacramento Kings‘ rising star, credited interim head coach Doug Christie for the team’s recent resurgence during an appearance on The Allen Stiles Show on Tuesday. Since Christie took over for Mike Brown, the Kings have gone 9-2, climbing to eighth place in the Western Conference.

“(Christie’s) obviously been a Sacramento King before, playing at Arco, and he knows how loud it can get, how fun it can be to play at home, and how troubling it can be for opposing teams to play there,” Murray said. The Kings’ 123-100 home win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday improved their record to 12-12 after a rocky start at the Golden 1 Center.

Murray, who averages 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists this season, acknowledged his struggles with three-point shooting (31.7%) but emphasized his overall contributions. “I feel like I’m playing at a high level,” he told Stiles. “Obviously, statistically, the three-point shot isn’t falling, but everything else I’m playing at a high level. When (the shot) comes, it comes, and [I’m] just continuing to work at it.”

The Kings face the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in a highly anticipated matchup. Murray highlighted the rivalry, saying, “There’s always juice when we play them just because we’re so close in miles apart and obviously the playoff series, the play-in. We’ve seen them each year in the postseason, so I feel like there’s really good competition.”

Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan made history during Sunday’s game, surpassing Allen Iverson to become the 29th-leading scorer in NBA history. DeRozan’s 24 points against the Wizards brought his career total to 24,379, just ahead of Iverson’s 24,368.

The Kings’ recent success has sparked optimism among fans and analysts alike. Sacramento Kings color analyst Kayte Christensen praised the team’s cohesion, while national NBA reporter Adam Mares noted the Kings’ upward trajectory as a positive for the league.