The Sacramento Kings reportedly fired coach Luke Walton on Sunday amid the team’s 6-11 start, the team announced. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the news. Wojnarowski also reported associate coach Alvin Gentry has been named interim coach.
“After a thorough evaluation of the season thus far, I decided to make a change to the head coach position,” said Kings General Manager Monte McNair. “I want to thank Luke for his efforts and contributions to our team.”
The Kings went 68-93 in Walton’s tenure. Walton previously spent three years as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach before being fired after the 2018-19 season.
Advertisement
The Kings has tried to build a core around recent lottery picks like De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell.
“I think we have the talent,” McNair said. “We’ve shown that we can do that. We’re going to get back to that and Alvin will be the guy to lead us there.”
The Kings haven’t made the NBA playoffs for 15 years straight. It’s current longest playoff drought in the league. While the organization believes in the talent on the team, it appears finding the right coach continues to be the Achilles heel for Kings to succeed.
Share your thoughts with us on social media.