Mike Brown’s NBA Journey: From Sacramento’s Savior to New York’s New Voice
What a ride it’s been for Mike Brown over the past year-plus. From a Coach of the Year award to a stunning dismissal, and now, leading one of the NBA’s most storied franchises, Brown’s path has been anything but ordinary.
Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden marked another chapter in that journey-a rematch between Brown’s new team, the Knicks, and his former squad, the Sacramento Kings. It wasn’t just another regular-season game. It was a moment to reflect on how quickly things can change in the NBA, and how Brown has landed squarely in the center of it all.
A New Era Begins in Sacramento
When the Kings hired Brown ahead of the 2022-23 season, the expectations were clear: end the drought. Sacramento hadn’t seen playoff basketball since 2006. That’s 16 years of frustration, false starts, and forgettable seasons.
Brown brought with him a résumé that demanded respect. He’d taken the Cavaliers to the Finals in 2007, earned Coach of the Year honors in 2009, and collected four championship rings as an assistant-one with the Spurs in 2003, and three more with the Warriors during their dynasty run.
The Kings were coming off a 32-50 season and desperately needed a culture shift. Brown delivered quickly.
Lighting the Beam
In his first season, Brown turned the Kings into one of the most exciting offenses in basketball. Built around the dynamic duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento pushed the pace, spaced the floor, and rained threes on opponents.
The numbers were staggering: 120.7 points per game, tops in the league, and a record-setting 118.6 points per 100 possessions. They didn’t just make the playoffs-they stormed in as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 48-34 record, snapping the longest postseason drought in NBA history.
Though they fell to the defending champion Warriors in a hard-fought seven-game series, Brown’s impact was undeniable. He was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year-and made history as the first to win it unanimously.
The Tides Turn
Year two brought its own challenges. Sacramento finished 46-36, a solid record by most standards. But injuries to key contributors like Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter hit at the worst time, and the Kings stumbled down the stretch, losing eight of their final 13 games.
They managed to beat the Warriors in the Play-In opener but couldn’t get past the Pelicans in the next round, missing out on the playoffs.
Still, Brown had compiled a 94-70 record over two seasons. That earned him a contract extension in July 2024, locking him in through the 2026-27 season at $8.5 million per year.
But not everyone was convinced. Fox, the face of the franchise, declined his own extension that summer. On a podcast appearance, he made it clear he wanted proof the team was serious about contending before committing long-term.
A Sudden Exit
The Kings entered the 2024-25 season with big expectations. They added DeMar DeRozan and re-signed Monk, hoping to build on the momentum of Brown’s first two years.
Instead, things unraveled quickly. Sacramento stumbled to a 13-18 start, including a brutal 3-11 record in clutch games-those decided by five points or fewer. Less than seven months after signing his extension, Brown was out.
The firing shocked the NBA coaching fraternity. Rick Carlisle, Steve Kerr, and Michael Malone all voiced their disbelief and disappointment, with Malone calling the move “classless.”
Brown walked away with a 107-88 record in Sacramento, good for a .549 winning percentage. Not bad for a team that hadn’t seen the playoffs in over a decade before his arrival.
The fallout didn’t stop there. Less than two months later, the Kings traded Fox to the Spurs. Fox had made his feelings clear: if Brown was gone, he wasn’t sticking around for yet another coaching change.
Doug Christie took over as head coach, and the Kings went 27-24 the rest of the way, ultimately falling to the Mavericks in the Play-In Tournament.
A New Chapter in New York
Meanwhile, across the country, the Knicks were coming off their best season in decades, having reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. But despite the success, the front office decided it was time for a different voice.
Tom Thibodeau was out. The Knicks wanted a more collaborative approach, a coach who could evolve with the modern game. Enter Mike Brown.
After an extensive month-long search, the Knicks handed the reins to Brown, betting on his blend of experience, adaptability, and player-first leadership.
Looking Ahead
The Knicks came into Tuesday night’s game with a 27-18 record and sitting in the No. 4 spot in the East, even after a recent 2-9 skid. They also claimed the NBA Cup last month, adding a bit of hardware to an already promising season.
As for the Kings? They entered the night at 12-35 under Christie this season, with a 39-59 record since parting ways with Brown. One of those wins came earlier this month-a 112-101 victory over the Knicks in Sacramento.
Before that game, Brown admitted the return stirred some emotions, but he stayed focused on the task at hand.
“I can’t control what things are being said,” Brown said. “Anybody can jump on the internet and post something and to some degree, you may think it’s real.
You can’t control that. You’ve just gotta put your head down, keep pushing forward and be the best you can.”
Now in New York, Brown’s doing just that-pushing forward, reshaping a team with championship aspirations, and proving once again that in the NBA, the only constant is change.