Kings’ Mike Brown named National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year
Kings coach Mike Brown was named National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year on Thursday after orchestrating a remarkable turnaround in his first season in Sacramento.
NBCA president and Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle called Brown’s work in Sacramento “one of the greatest coaching jobs we’ve ever seen in this league.”
Brown was chosen as NBCA Coach of the Year by his peers in a vote of the NBA’s 30 head coaches. Brown is also a strong favorite for the NBA Coach of the Year award, a separate award that is selected by the media.
Others coaches who received votes for the NBCA award were Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks; Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder; Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics; and Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks.
“It really means a lot any time your peers step up and give you recognition because that’s who you’re competing against,” Brown said. “There are excellent coaches, excellent staffs, excellent organizations. Yes, my name is quote-unquote on it this year, but it’s not all about me. It’s a testament of where this organization is from the coaching staff to the performance and medical team.
“I’ve said it all along. We’ve had a healthy team and that’s a big, big part of it. … Just like the rest of the coaching staff. It wasn’t just me. I miss crap all the time, but they cover my behind when I do and all that other stuff, which makes it a huge, huge team effort.”
Brown received a big ovation from his players and staff when assistant coach Luke Loucks told the group he had won the award after practice Thursday.
“When they mentioned it in the circle over there, they asked me for a speech,” Brown said. “The only thing I could do was to say thank you to everybody.”
Brown has led the Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2006, ending the longest postseason drought in NBA history. The Kings will play Game 1 of their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
Carlisle issued a statement congratulating Brown on the award.
“Congratulations to Mike Brown on one of the greatest coaching jobs we’ve ever seen in this league,” Carlisle said. “He completely changed the attitude and vibe of the Kings franchise and fan base, launching them into an amazing new era of success.”
Kings guard Kevin Huerter said Brown was a deserving winner of the award.
“It’s a testament to him,” Huerter said. “I think that’s something we all honestly expected. His body of work this year, the turnaround we’ve had as an organization, the way he’s coached us, a lot of young guys on this team, a lot of guys who haven’t been here before. We were just consistent all year and that started from him just being honest, practicing in here every day, drilling things, the accountability he brings every single day. He truly deserves it for sure.”
