Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk said he does not understand why coach Doug Christie benched him despite private and public explanations. Monk spoke exclusively with The Sacramento Bee before Sunday’s 125-124 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets.
Monk, the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year runner-up, was benched in back-to-back losses to Portland before playing five minutes against Houston. He entered the game in the second half and scored on a driving layup during Sacramento’s rally from a 14-point deficit.
Monk said Christie told him the benching represented trying something new. The explanation left the guard confused.
“He just told me he’s trying something new,” Monk said. “That’s basically it, and I said, ‘Yeah, OK, I’ll be ready whenever my name is called.'”
When asked if he was confused by the decision, Monk responded directly.
“One thousand percent,” Monk said. “But it’s not my job to try to figure out why I’m not playing because I deem myself more than the whole, so I’ll just be ready when my name is called.”
The veteran guard attempted to sound unbothered by the situation. He said his experience helps him handle adversity.
“I’ve been in the league long enough where I don’t let this stuff get to me,” Monk said.
However, Monk could not completely hide his frustration about missing playing time.
“Everybody knows I want to be out there, especially playing in front of this crowd in Sac, but there ain’t s— I can do about it,” Monk said.
Kings fans gave Monk a large ovation when he entered Sunday’s game with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Christie described a “logjam” in Sacramento’s backcourt with Monk as the “odd man out” in a numbers game before Sunday’s contest. The coach initially planned to play Keon Ellis instead of Monk but called on the veteran after Ellis fouled Houston guard Reed Sheppard on a three-point attempt with 0.9 seconds remaining in the first half.
“There’s a lot of challenges,” Christie said. “You can’t play everybody. It’s just the nature of what it is. This isn’t participation. It’s professional sports, and right now we have a logjam, but everyone is in play.”
Christie emphasized performance-based decisions moving forward.
“If someone isn’t playing great, there’s a really good chance someone else is going to play,” Christie said. “If someone isn’t playing to our standard of competitiveness, of all the different things that we value, then obviously there’s a strong possibility that they’re going to come out of the game.”
The victory ended Sacramento’s five-game losing streak.