The Sacramento Kings’ woes seemed over when they returned to the NBA postseason in 2023 after a 15-year drought.
The young core of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Keegan Murray were built to complete. Plus, 2023 Coach of the Year Mike Brown seemingly had the Kings ready to reach the next level.
Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out for Sacramento. They went 46-36 in the 2023-24 season and narrowly missed the playoffs.
The Kings are 13-18 to start the 2024-25 season. On Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Sacramento had fired Brown.
Just In: The Sacramento Kings are parting ways with head coach Mike Brown, sources told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/mNdn5EOv4U
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 27, 2024
As if abruptly firing the 2023 NBA Coach of the Year wasn’t enough, the Kings waited until right before the team was set to head to Los Angeles for Saturday’s game against the Lakers. ABC 10’s Matt George was on-site at Kings practice and shared the news to his X account.
The Sacramento Kings just fired Mike Brown right before the team boarded a flight to LA. He just ran a full practice and spent 15 minutes talking to the media.
Just bad man. Bad bad bad.
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) December 27, 2024
Brown started his career in 1992 as a scout for the Denver Nuggets. Following the 1997 season, Brown was hired as an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards from 1997-99.
The turn of the century brought Brown great fortunes. Gregg Popovich hired him to join the staff of the San Antonio Spurs. Brown was on the bench through the 2003 season when San Antonio won its second NBA Championship since 1999.
Brown went on to join Rick Carlisle’s staff with the Indiana Pacers before being named head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He coached Cleveland from 2005 to 2010 and won 50 or more games in four of the five seasons, including two 60-plus-win seasons.
Brown’s best season in Cleveland came when the team went 66-16 in 2008-09 before falling to the Orlando Magic in the conference semifinals. He also led the Cavs to the 2007 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Spurs.
After Brown’s time in Cleveland, he succeeded Phil Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers. His time with the Lakers lasted just 71 games. He was fired five games into his second season.
Brown returned to Cleveland for the 2013-14 season but was fired after a disappointing 33-49 finish.
When Luke Walton left the Golden State Warriors’ staff to take the Lakers head coaching job in 2016, Warriors coach Steve Kerr hired Brown as his top assistant. Brown was on the bench for three of the team’s NBA Championships and served as head coach for the first 12 games of the 2018 NBA playoffs while Kerr suffered from a back injury.
Brown went 107-88 in his two-and-a-quarter seasons with the Kings. He won the 2009 and 2023 NBA Coach of the Year awards, making him the 11th coach in NBA history to win the award multiple times. He signed a three-year extension with the Kings in June.
