Kings’ Mike Brown passes Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla as top Coach of the Year candidate
Mike Brown was a longshot for Coach of the Year when the season began. His team’s odds of reaching the playoffs were even worse, but the situation in Sacramento has changed.
The Kings are closing in on their first postseason appearance since 2006 with a chance to end the longest playoff drought in NBA history. Brown was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for February, becoming the third coach in franchise history and the first since Rick Adelman in 2004 to win the award.
There could be more in store for Brown, who has now emerged as the odds-on favorite for Coach of the Year after orchestrating a remarkable turnaround in his first season in Sacramento. The Kings were third in the Western Conference going into Monday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, just one game behind the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies with 19 games remaining.
“It’s amazing,” Kings guard Terence Davis said. “He’s so locked in. Just how he approaches his daily routine, it’s fun to see. It’s exciting to watch, but I know he’s locked in just by the way he approaches practice and shootaround and things of that sort. He definitely deserves Coach of the Year.”
BetOnline listed Brown as a 25/1 underdog for Coach of the Year when the season began. His odds dipped to 50/1 on Nov. 1 before jumping to 12/1 on Dec. 1; 10/1 on Jan. 2; and 23/10 on Feb. 1. Now, in the most recent update from BetOnline, Brown is a 2/3 favorite, moving ahead of Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla (2/1). Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone (5/1) is second following by the Memphis Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins (16/1), Milwaukee Bucks’ Mike Budenholzer (16/1) and Cleveland Cavaliers’ JB Bickerstaff (25/1).
“Mike has done an incredible job,” Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “Shoot, he’s going to be right up there if he don’t win Coach of the Year. ... He’s been in the league a long time. He’s been a champion before coming here.
“I just see a renewed energy. The way they play, they’re playing fast. They know how they’re playing, who they play through, roles. Most good teams, you have to have that. (Players) just have to accept and embrace their role, and a lot of that comes from the coach being honest with the guys. You can tell that he’s done that and they’re having a special season.”
Brown, who celebrated his 53rd birthday Sunday, came to Sacramento after six years as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Golden State Warriors. He credits his coaching staff for the Kings’ success, pointing to assistants such as Jordi Fernandez, Jay Triano, Luke Loucks, Lindsey Harding, Doug Christie and Leandro Barbosa.
Brown recently took a moment to reflect on what this moment means for Sacramento, what his team has achieved so far this season, and the possibility of ending the playoff drought.
“It’s awesome,” Brown said. “It’s really, really cool to be a part of. Luke and Jordi, they’ve been with me for a while. I’ve known them, obviously, for a while, and a lot of times when I interviewed (for coaching jobs), those guys helped out in one way or another. When this opportunity came up and we started talking about the job, we didn’t envision we’d be sitting in the second spot or the third spot or we’d have this record or that record, but we did feel like there was enough here to win, and we talked about how special it would be if we could be a part of it.
“So, to be a part of something like this right now, especially talking about it way back when, before we even got the job, is pretty neat, and the whole basis of us thinking it would be an extremely special or neat thing was because of how passionate the fans are here in Sacramento. It was almost 100% based on that and how neat it would be to be part of the energy and the environment that once was in Sacramento.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 12:21 PM.
