SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kings coach Mike Brown has already received one prestigious award for his work in Sacramento this season. Now, he has won another.
Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year on Wednesday after orchestrating an extraordinary turnaround in Sacramento, leading the Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2006 and a 2-0 series lead over the defending champion Golden State Warriors. He was the first coach in league history to win the award unanimously. All 100 voters, journalists and broadcasters who cover the league, voted Brown in first place.
The award was announced live on TNT prior to Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies. Brown was chosen over two other finalists, Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla and Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
This is Brown’s second NBA Coach of the Year award. He also received the award in 2009 after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 66-16 record.
Brown received the award six days after he was named National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year, a separate award that is chosen by the NBA’s 30 head coaches. NBCA president and Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle heaped enormous praise on Brown when that award was announced, crediting him with “one of the greatest coaching jobs we’ve ever seen in this league.”
Brown came to Sacramento after six seasons as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Warriors. The Kings hired him with the belief that he could bring winning basketball back to a once-proud city after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
The Kings went 48-34 in their first season under Brown after winning 30 games in 2021-22. They won the Pacific Division for the first time since 2003 and advanced to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Brown was asked after practice Wednesday which aspect of his coaching job this season brings him the most pride and satisfaction. Brown pointed to the way his players have bought into the teachings of the coaching staff.
“How they’ve embraced everything we’ve asked them to do,” Brown said. “When I explain to you guys about roles, how they can accept it, reject it or embrace it, they haven’t accepted us coaching them. They’ve embraced us coaching them and they’ve tried to go out there and compete at the highest level for each other, and that, from my seat, is about as good as any pat on the back you can ask for.”
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox, who was named NBA Clutch Player of the Year on Tuesday, said he has been most impressed with Brown’s attention to detail. The Kings are still seeing that level of focus from Brown after winning the first two games in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Warriors.
“We can have a really good game and he’ll say, if I can nitpick, he’ll pick something apart,” Fox said. “We’ve played these first two games and we’re still in here, we’re still watching film, we’re still working on what we can be better at, both offensively and defensively.”
Kings forward Harrison Barnes said he was pleased to see his coach rewarded.
“He’s talked to the team about his journey as a coach and the ups and downs that he’s had,” Barnes said. “For him to come here, with where we were at as a team and as an organization, and kind of just help get things back on the right path, I think for him to get that recognition — you don’t do it for that — but to have other people acknowledge it is big.”
