Kings reportedly fire coach Mike Brown, a decision that came unexpectedly on Friday, as the team had yet to make an official announcement. The news was initially broken by ESPN.
In his debut season, Brown earned the NBA Coach of the Year award for 2022-23, playing a pivotal role in ending Sacramento’s 16-year playoff drought, the longest in NBA history.
However, the Kings faced setbacks last year, losing in the play-in tournament, and their current season is off to a rocky start with a 13-18 record. This led to the surprising decision to part ways with Brown, just six months after he signed a contract extension that would have kept him with the team through the 2026-27 season.
This season, the Kings have struggled, losing an NBA-high nine games after leading in the fourth quarter. The most notable defeat occurred in Brown’s final game on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons.
In that game, Sacramento held a 10-point lead with less than three minutes remaining but faltered in the closing moments. Jaden Ivey’s four-point play, which included a 3-pointer followed by a foul from De’Aaron Fox, secured a 114-113 victory for the Pistons, leaving the Kings in 12th place in the Western Conference.
During his tenure in Sacramento, Brown compiled a record of 107-88, achieving a winning record in both of his full seasons. Only Rick Adelman has matched this success with a winning record in a full season since the franchise’s move to Sacramento.
Before joining the Kings, Brown had coaching stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers. His overall coaching record stands at 455-304, with playoff appearances in seven of his nine full seasons. He has been honored as Coach of the Year twice, first in Cleveland during the 2008-09 season and again with Sacramento.
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