Sacramento Kings fire head coach Mike Brown amid early season struggles
By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — Amid early season struggles, the Sacramento Kings have fired head coach Mike Brown, the team announced on Friday.
The Kings, currently 13-18 on the season and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, let go of Brown halfway through his third season on the job.
Despite this season’s difficulties, the 54-year-old has had his fair share of success at the helm in Sactown.
Brown was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year for the second time in his career in his first season with the Kings in 2022-23 after he helped Sacramento snap the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 seasons.
“This was a difficult decision, and I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to the organization,” Kings general manager Monte McNair said in a statement Friday.
Doug Christie has been named the team’s interim head coach.
The Kings have had multiple tough losses this season including a narrow defeat on Thursday night.
Sacramento lost to the Detroit Pistons 114-113 at Golden1 Center after leading by 10 points with less than three minutes to go.
Detroit fought back, culminating in Jaden Ivey converting a game-winning four-point play with 3 seconds left after getting fouled by Kings guard De’Aaron Fox.
Brown was seen at team practice and held a media session with reporters earlier on Friday.
“When you go through adverse times, you know who’s truly there for you,” Brown told reporters of the team’s struggles. “People will jump off the bandwagon quick and the support – wherever it may come from – may not always be there.
“But that’s part of what I have to deal with. Not just for myself but holding everyone together. … And I am okay with anyone criticizing me. Because again, I get paid to handle that.”
The Kings are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference.
Brown had a 107-88 record in regular season play in two-plus years in the capital city of California.
Many coaches around the league showed their support for Brown including Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernandez, who coached under Brown in Sacramento the last few seasons.
“He’s very good at what he does. In my opinion, he’s one of the best,” Fernandez told reporters ahead of the Nets’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. “I wouldn’t be here without him. Obviously, to me, it’s really sad news, and I don’t like it. But it’s part of the business.”
The firing also drew the ire of Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone. Malone was fired by the Kings during the 2014-2015 season.
“l’m not surprised that Mike Brown got fired, because I got fired by the same person,” Malone said. “… No class, no balls. That’s what I’ll say about that.”
Previously, Brown coached the Cleveland Cavaliers twice and the Los Angeles Lakers. He has a 455-304 career record and has made the playoffs in seven of his nine seasons as a head coach. He has also won four NBA championships including three while as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.
The Kings are next scheduled to play Saturday in Los Angeles against LeBron James and the Lakers.
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