It’s January 24 and NBA teams are approaching 50 regular season games. Among the nice surprises of the 2022-23 campaign, we have the Kings who are on the podium in the Western Conference at the time of these lines. An incredible sentence that makes Mike Brown one of the big favorites to win the title of Coach of the Year.
If we had been told at the start of the season that the Kings would post a record of 27 wins – 19 losses at the end of January with a place in the Top 3 in the West, we would have spat out our coffee.
Yet here we are.
Winner of eight of his last nine games, Mike Brown’s band is booming. The expression “Light the Beam” is more fashionable than ever, the Sacramento collective is running at full speed, the Golden 1 Center audience is on fire every night, in short, it’s a wonderful time to be a Kings fan.
Sacramento is electric.
The Kings are electric.
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— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) January 24, 2023
Two months ago, after a Sacramento victory over San Antonio, legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had already noticed a Mike Brown effect in the Californian capital. Today, it is impossible not to recognize the impact of Steve Kerr’s former assistant at the Warriors on the recovery of this franchise, accustomed to mediocrity for so many years and deprived of the Playoffs for 16 years now (an NBA record) .
Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus, Kenny Natt, Paul Westphal, Keith Smart, Michael Malone, Tyrone Corbin, George Karl, Dave Joerger, Luke Walton, Alvin Gentry. Here is the list of coaches who have trained Sacramento since the last qualification for the Playoffs under Rick Adelman (in 2006) and the arrival of Mike Brown during the 2022 offseason. If the vast majority of them did not have the shoulders to straighten out the Kings (only Dave Joerger really managed to build anything before he got…fired) they’re probably all in agreement that that training in Sacramento was no picnic given the overall culture that has characterized the franchise over the past 15 years.
ICYMI: Drunk court-side fan vomits on floor at Saturday night’s Jazz-Kings NBA game.
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— Bet Any Sports (@betanysportsEU) November 21, 2021
When Mike Brown decided to join the Kings this summer, he was aware of all that. He knew how important it was for the Sacramento franchise to regain some dignity, with the ultimate goal of finally replaying the Playoffs. So as soon as he set foot in the Californian capital, he insisted on certain elements that make Sactown so successful today: play with the right attitude, forge a collective identity, put energy into all initiatives, and fight for each other.
Yes, it sounds very cliché said like that, but the Kings lacked all of that in years past. This season, we have a team that knows where it is going, a team that has a well-defined style of play (seventh NBA team with the highest pace of play, second most efficient attack in the League, 4th in the number of assists ), a team that has life, without complex, and which plays together behind the duo De’Aaron Fox – Domantas Sabonis. Anywaywe have something consistent in Sacramento.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the 2022-23 Kings’ style of play doesn’t quite resemble that of a team coached by Mike Brown. We recall that the latter is above all renowned for his defensive skills, he who brilliantly took care of the defense of the Warriors in the shadow of Steve Kerr between 2016 and 2022. Sacramento remains today one of the most successful teams. more permeable in the NBA (23rd in defensive efficiency) but Brown has been able to adapt to the strengths of his workforce to maximize the individual qualities of his players, and thus the collective results of the team.. Sabonis – who arrived last season – is now like a duck to water, Fox is having arguably the best season of his career, rookies Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter play crucial roles in the Kings’ fearsome offense, and the young Keegan Murray is having a great rookie campaign.
Mike Brown will be Coach of the Year by season’s end. Book it!
He’s done a phenomenal job with this Kings team.#SacramentoProud pic.twitter.com/EXuFiNWTBm
— ????????????????????????’ ???????????? (@_Talkin_NBA) January 22, 2023
Named Coach of the Year in 2009 when he was still coaching LeBron James in Cleveland, Mike Brown ticks a lot of boxes today to win this award for a second time. In the space of barely half a season, he managed to bring from Golden State a winning culture as well as a requirement that was sorely lacking in Sacramento so far. And when you see how inconsistent the Warriors are this year, you understand even more what a very competent coach Brown is.
Admittedly, we have several coaches who are doing well this year in the NBA: Joe Mazzulla (Celtics), Willie Green (Pelicans), Michael Malone (Nuggets), Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies) and a few others. But it will still be difficult to get Mike Brown if the Kings qualify for the Playoffs by finishing in the Top 3 in the West.
Because very clearly, no one imagined for a single second Sacramento going so high. No one.
