Gentry’s Future as Head Coach in Sacramento

Recent Kings Coaching Carousel

After 161 games as Kings head coach, Luke Walton was relieved of his duties on November 21, 2021. Walton began his tenure as Sacramento Kings head coach on March 15th, 2019 when he was hired by then-general manager Vlade Divac. During his time as head coach of the Sacramento Kings, Walton tallied a record of 68-93 (.433).

Sacramento then named assistant coach and longtime NBA head coach Alvin Gentry as their interim head coach. That was amidst some ‘rumors’ that Sacramento Kings fan favorite and first-year assistant coach Doug Christie may be appointed to the interim head coaching role.

Gentry has been a head coach for 1158 NBA games, with a 529-629 record. Since taking over the interim head coaching role on 3/21/22, the Kings are 20-37 under Gentry. Just to re-iterate… the Sacramento Kings have not made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season.

Kings Stats Under Gentry

There were a few interesting stats that stuck out to me during Alvin Gentry’s 57 games as interim head coach. Comparing the Kings this season under head coach Walton and interim head coach Gentry – Sacramento is averaging more points per game under Gentry, 110.9 PPG compared to 109.1 PPG under Walton. Sacramento is attempting more three-pointers per game under Gentry, 35.5, compared to 32.9 under Walton. Under Gentry, the Kings are also shooting a higher percentage from three-point range, 34.7% compared to 33.8% under Walton. Assists per game are also up under Gentry, 24.0 per game compared to 22.4 under Walton.

Defensively, the Kings have averaged the same amount of steals per game under both coaches, 7.2. Along with similar blocks per game, 5.0 under Walton compared to 4.3 under Gentry.

Is Gentry a REALISTIC Candidate?

It seems like Alvin Gentry is a great human, very respected in the NBA world, a high-level assistant coach, and a capable head coach. Though, going forward for the Sacramento Kings, I would hope Gentry is not their head coach. Gentry seems like a great fit for an assistant coach on the Kings but not the best fit for the long-term head coach of the Sacramento Kings. How the Kings fare in their playoff/play-in tournament push could heavily determine the future of the Gentry as Kings head coach. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, if you’re on ‘Team Tank’) that play-in push is not looking good.

Who will be the head coach of the Kings when they select in the top 7 of the 2022 NBA Draft? Read about more of the potential Sacramento Kings head coaching candidates in my recent article!

Fan Input

57 fans voted in my Twitter poll, and 91.2% of voters DO NOT WANT Alvin Gentry back as Kings head coach in 2022-23.

As always, Go Sacramento Kings!

-Tom Witt

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