Kings’ Mike Brown is Western Conference Coach of the Month; Sacramento’s first since 2004
Kings coach Mike Brown is gaining more and more attention for the dramatic turnaround he has orchestrated this season in Sacramento.
The NBA on Thursday announced Brown has been named Western Conference Coach of the Month for February. Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.
Brown became the third coach in franchise history to win the award and the first since Rick Adelman in January 2004. Adelman was also named Coach of the Month in January 2002. The only other Kings coach to win the award, which was first introduced in 1982, was Gary St. Jean in November 1995.
Brown led the Kings to an 8-4 record in February. The Kings (36-25) have won four in a row and seven of their last 10, moving a season-best 11 games over .500. They are third in the Western Conference, two games behind the No. 4 Memphis Grizzlies and three games ahead of the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns.
This is the sixth time Brown has been named Coach of the Month during his career. He won the award five times with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007-08 and 2008-09. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2009.
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox was a top candidate for Western Conference Player of the Month, but the award went to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. The two-time reigning MVP averaged 22.6 points, 14.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists in February.
Fox has been sensational as the Kings close in on their first playoff berth since 2006. He averaged 32.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists in February while shooting 56.7% from the field, 34.1% from 3-point range and 78.7% on 9.9 free-throw attempts per game.
Fox scored a season-high 42 points to help the Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime last week in an epic shootout at Crypto.com Arena — the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. Fox missed Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to left wrist soreness, but he expects to return to the lineup when the Kings open a four-game homestand against the Clippers on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
