A timeline of the Sacramento Kings’ disappointing 2024-25 NBA season
The Sacramento Kings had lofty aspirations coming into the 2024-25 NBA season, but they were destined for chaos from the start.
They fired a coach, traded their franchise player and promptly replaced their general manager following a tumultuous season that fell far short of expectations.
The Kings went 40-42 to finish ninth in the Western Conference. Their season ended with a 120-106 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the play-in tournament Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive sat courtside, arms crossed with a dour expression while watching his team fall behind by 26 points after getting outscored 44-19 in the second quarter. Less than an hour later, the Kings parted ways with general manager Monte McNair, continuing the cycle of chaos and change within the organization.
Here’s a timeline of events explaining how a once-promising season came unraveled over the past 12 months.
Mike Brown contract extension
Cracks in the team’s foundation began to form when coach Mike Brown entered into contentious contract negotiations with one year remaining on his initial deal.
The team was reluctant to extend Brown’s contract, but star point guard De’Aaron Fox made it clear he didn’t want to go through another coaching change after years of instability. On May 31, Brown and the team agreed to a deal that would pay him $8.5 million per year through the 2026-27 season.
DeMar DeRozan signing
The Kings upgraded their roster talent last summer when they acquired six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade deal.
The Kings had high hopes after adding DeRozan to a group that already included, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray. Some analysts questioned DeRozan’s fit in Sacramento, but others predicted the Kings could win 50 games and compete for one of six automatic playoff berths in the Western Conference.
Fox’s 60-point game
Fox treated the Sacramento crowd to a breathtaking performance in a 130-126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 15.
Fox scored a franchise-record 60 points to bring his team back from a 20-point deficit. Twenty-four hours later, Fox scored 49 points in a 121-117 victory over the Utah Jazz, joining Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score 109 points or more over a two-day span.
Losing streak
The Kings fell six games under .500 after enduring a six-game losing streak in late December, an alarming stretch that included a five-game homestand.
They suffered a 130-129 loss to the Denver Nuggets, 113-100 and 103-99 losses to the Los Angeles Lakers, a 122-95 loss to the Indiana Pacers, a 114-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons and then a 132-122 loss to the Lakers.
The Kings led the Pistons by 19 points in the third quarter and held a 15-point lead with under eight minutes remaining. A stunning fourth-quarter collapse was capped by Jaden Ivey’s game-winning four-point play with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Mike Brown fired
Brown was fired a day after Sacramento fell to 13-18 with the loss to Detroit. His dismissal represented a stunning fall from grace for a man who helped change the fortunes of a long-suffering franchise.
Brown became the first unanimous Coach of the Year selection after leading the Kings to 48 wins and the No. 3 seed in the West in 2022-23, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
Hot start for Doug Christie
The Kings lost to the Lakers in their first game with Christie at the helm, but then they won seven in a row and 10 of 11 to improve to 23-20. That stretch included impressive wins over the Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors (2), Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.
De’Aaron Fox trade
Fox turned down a contract extension last summer, saying he wanted clarity regarding the organization’s direction, later signaled he was unlikely to re-sign this summer.
Under pressure from Fox and his agent, Clutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, the Kings made a franchise-changing move. On Feb. 3, they traded Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal that brought Zach LaVine to Sacramento.
Luke Loucks leaves for FSU
Luke Loucks, one of the team’s top assistant coaches, left the organization March 9 when he was hired as head coach at Florida State, his alma mater. Loucks spent three seasons with the Kings after coming to Sacramento as one of Brown’s first hires.
Wes Wilcox goes to Utah
Assistant general manager Wes Wilcox stepped down after he was hired as general manager of the University of Utah men’s basketball program. Wilcox, a longtime NBA executive, worked closely with McNair to transform the team’s roster over the past five years.
New leadership
The Kings worked quickly to bring in new leadership following the departures of McNair and Wilcox. Less than 12 hours after parting ways with McNair, a league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings were finalizing a deal to make Scott Perry their new general manager.
Perry, who has 25 years of experience as an NBA executive, briefly served as vice president of basketball operations in Sacramento in 2017 before he was hired as general manager of the New York Knicks. He has also held front office roles with the Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM.
