Kings coach Mike Brown clears NBA health and safety protocols after mild case of COVID-19
Kings coach Mike Brown will return for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz after recovering from COVID-19.
The team announced Brown has cleared NBA health and safety protocols and will coach the Kings (18-15) when they conclude a six-game homestand against the Jazz (19-18) on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
Brown entered the league’s protocol system Tuesday. He missed two games against the Denver Nuggets while experiencing mild symptoms. Associate head coach Jordi Fernandez, Brown’s top assistant, served as acting head coach while Brown was away from the team.
The Kings suffered a 113-106 loss to the Nuggets on Tuesday. They bounced back with a 127-126 victory over the Nuggets on Wednesday as center Domantas Sabonis returned to the lineup after missing one game with an avulsion fracture of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb.
The Kings hired Brown in May to replace former coach Luke Walton, who was fired 17 games into the 2021-22 season. Brown came to Sacramento after spending six seasons as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Golden State Warriors, where he was a part of three NBA championship teams.
Brown and his staff have overseen an impressive turnaround in Sacramento this season. The Kings are seventh in the Western Conference, just 3 ½ games behind the New Orleans Pelicans and Nuggets for the best record in the West as they seek to end an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought.
