Mike Woodson joining Kings staff under Doug Christie

After the Sacramento Kings decided to fire Mike Brown back in December, they elevated Doug Christie as interim head coach. With the Kings now in offseason mode having not made the playoffs, their first order of business was to remove the interim tag from Doug Christie and make him full-time head coach. And as Christie assembles his Kings staff, a familiar NBA face has resurfaced in Mike Woodson.

Mike Woodson is set to join Christie’s staff as associate head coach, as per Shams Charania of ESPN. Woodson was previously head coach at the University of Indiana. Before the 2024-25 NCAA season was even over, Woodson had announced his decision to resign at the end of the year.

Woodson had spent the past four years as Indiana head coach, returning to where he played college basketball under legendary coach Bob Knight. During that stretch, Woodson complied an overall record of 82-53, and 41-39 in Big Ten Conference play. This past season, the Hoosiers finished with an overall record of 19-13 and 10-10 in Big Ten play. They failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

The Hoosiers did make the NCAA Tournament during Woodson’s first two seasons, advancing to the round of 32 during the 2022-23 season. He now returns to the NBA with a wealth of professional coaching experience.

Woodson got his first NBA head coaching job during the 2004-05 season with the Atlanta Hawks. He would remain as Hawks coach from 2004-2010, with three playoff appearances and a 53-win season in his final year in Atlanta.

After the Hawks did not re-sign Woodson after his contract expired he sat out a season before joining Mike D’Antoni’s coaching staff with the New York Knicks in 2011-12. D’Antoni stepped down late that season and Woodson took over as interim. After hiring Woodson as full-time head coach, he would remain at the helm until the end of the 2013-14 season.

Across a little less than three and a half seasons with the Knicks, Woodson led them to two playoff appearances, including an Eastern Conference Semifinals appearance in 2012-13 when the Knicks won 54 games. Woodson was an assistant coach in the NBA from 1996-2004.