Kings coach Doug Christie hits De'Aaron Fox with 'I love you man' message
01/02/2025 12:14 PM
Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie and point guard De'Aaron Fox guided the Kings to a 113-107 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Christie captured his second win since Mike Brown's firing as Fox scored 14 of 35 points in the final frame while leading his team to a 15-0 run amid a nine-point deficit in the final minutes of regulation.
After the win, Christie talked about Fox's talent reaching new heights, per Ballislife's X, formerly Twitter.
"De'Aaron Fox is elite. His competitive nature is just high level. He's finding his way in front of our very eyes. It's huge. I just hugged him and said, 'I love you man. Thank you.'"
Doug Christie: "De'Aaron Fox is elite. His competitive nature is just high level. He's finding his way in front of our very eyes. It's huge. I just hugged him and said, 'I love you man. Thank you.'" pic.twitter.com/j4afjygdg6https://t.co/DPFTo2sJfx
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 2, 2025
Amid the second-to-last year of Fox's five-year, $163 million contract, many speculate De'Aaron's looming free agency factored into the Kings' decision to relieve coach Brown of his duties amid a struggling 2024-25 campaign. The Kings improved to 15-19 following Christie's first two wins as interim head coach. However, in a competitive Western Conference, Sacramento remains one game behind the Phoenix Suns for 11th place in the standings.
In terms of cracking the Western Conference's playoff picture, the Kings still have ways to go but are off to a positive start in beating the 76ers after a 110-100 victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
Michael Malone blasts Kings' Mike Brown for firing
The Kings' firing of former head coach Mike Brown sent shockwaves around the NBA, with Nuggets head coach Micahel Malone criticizing the Kings front office for its decision that led to Doug Christie becoming the interim head coach.
Malone didn't hold back in calling out the Kings, per DNVR Nuggets.
"[I'm surprised] for two reasons," Malone said. "One, because as an NBA head coach, ultimately, you're going to get the blame. When they win, it's going to go to [Domantas] Sabonis and [De'Aaron] Fox. When you lose, it's gonna go to Mike Brown. That's the way it works. And two, who he works for. So I'm not surprised that Mike Brown got fired, because I got fired by the same person. And what really pissed me off about it was that they lost last night, fifth game in a row, I believe. Tough loss, fouling a jump-shooter.
"They have practice this morning, he does his postgame media, and he's in his car going to the airport to fly to L.A. And they call him on the phone. No class. No balls. That's what I'll say about that."
Kings will go for their third consecutive win when they host the Grizzlies on Friday.
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