LOS ANGELES – Doug Christie rapped to the lyrics to Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” Saturday morning as the song echoed through USC’s Galen Center at the end of his first shootout as interim coach of the Sacramento Kings.

More than 30 years after Christie was a rookie with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was preparing to face them in his first game since taking over for Mike Brown, who was released Friday afternoon before the team’s departure for the West Coast.

It wasn’t a good season for the Kings. They entered Saturday in 13th place in the Western Conference with a record of 13-18 – after losing five straight games and 12 of their last 17. And later that evening they lost 132-122 to the Lakers.

However, the change won’t happen overnight, and Kings guard Malik Monk – who credited Brown’s “passion” in turning around the franchise over the past two seasons – said the coaching change led to a shift in energy in the shoot-around session .

“Spirits were high,” Monk said. “Everyone is happy. Everyone is ready.”

This group also included All-Star standout Domantas Sabonis. He missed Sacramento’s final game on Thursday due to illness, when the Kings failed to maintain a 19-point second-half lead in a 114-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Sabonis did not accompany the team on the flight to LA because he was unable to play due to his illness, but organized his own trip on Saturday morning to be there with Christie for the first steps.

“I came here and walked right onto the court,” Sabonis said. “We are all focused on winning the game. But of course we know that we didn’t show our best performance. And we have to do a better job. As one of the leaders of the team, I have to make sure that happens. We have to win all the games we can.

After the Pistons game, Brown called out another Sacramento leader, De’Aaron Fox, for fouling Jaden Ivey on a 3-pointer in the final seconds while the Kings had a 3-point lead Game.

Before Brown was fired, he led the Kings’ practice on Friday and was seen by reporters talking to Fox on the field.

“We talked about things in the game, what we were going to do toward the end of games,” Fox said after the shootout. “I definitely didn’t know that that little conversation – that’s really normal – would have been the last with him as a 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 to fly to LA

Sabonis, who said he was sleeping when the decision was made, called it “shocking.” Monk said he had it with him

Fox said he was “surprised” but was given a heads up. “I figured it out a minute before anyone else,” he said.

After Brown signed a contract extension through 2026-27 in the offseason – adding more than $20 million in guaranteed money to what he was already owed – Fox praised the continuity of the Kings organization.

A reporter asked Fox on Saturday if he felt “pressure or guilt” because things with Brown unraveled so quickly.

“Any pressure or guilt? I mean, obviously we all know the job we have,” Fox said. “They can be traded at any time. Released. Cut. Fired. Whatever it may be. I mean, I wouldn’t use the word ‘guilt.'” But that’s the nature of the job we have.

“But I mean, when he signed his contract extension this summer, we obviously felt like we would be together for a lot longer, but that’s the decision they made. But at the end of the day he still gets paid. A great part. “As an NBA player or as an NBA coach, these things can happen, but these contracts are guaranteed.”

Christie spoke to the team before flying to LA and again at the Galen Center. His message?

“Come out and stick together, fight and just be who we are and turn things around,” 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 fire their coach two seasons later.

“Sorry, fans,” Monk said. “We’re going to turn it around. That’s it. Short and sweet.”

After Saturday’s loss, with talk still focused on the coaching change, Fox sent another short message to everyone, adding that the Kings “still have a long season ahead of them.”