Former NBA Coach of the Year takes cryptic jab at Sacramento Kings for parting ways with Mike Brown

The Sacramento Kings reportedly fired Mike Brown, the coach who ended the team’s NBA-worst 16-year playoff drought during the 2022-23 season. Sacramento sacked Brown amidst a five-game losing slump.

The 114-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday saw the team collapse and surrender a 10-point lead with roughly two minutes left.

George Karl, the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year, reacted to the reported firing:

“Same owner. Same ways. Isn’t gonna change.”

The defeat to the Pistons was the latest in a series of late-game disappointments this season. They are 3-11 in games with a five-point or less differential, the worst in the league. Despite the struggles, the firing caught many off guard.

Mike Brown was a big reason the culture in Sacramento changed. He instilled confidence and belief in the Kings that were catalysts in ending nearly two decades of playoff-less basketball. In two full seasons coaching the Vive Randive-owned team, Brown had a 107-88 record, the only winning mark since Rick Adelman’s seven-year stretch (368-206).

Adelman guided the Kings to the 2006 postseason. Sacramento shuffled through 11 coaches, including George Karl, before punching a playoff ticket in 2023 under Brown. The No. 3 seeded Kings lost in a classic seven-game thriller to the Golden State Warriors.

Mike Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year winner. He earned the award in 2009 while guiding LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Columbus, Ohio, native won for the second time in 2023 for his work with the Sacramento Kings.

---

The Sacramento Kings fired George Karl in 2016

The Sacramento Kings had three coaches during the 2014-15 season. They started with now-Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who led the team to an 11-13 record. Sacramento replaced Malone with Tyrone Corbin, who ended with a 7-21 mark before George Karl took over.

Karl couldn’t make much of a difference as the Kings limped to an 11-19 record in the last two months. The former Seattle Supersonics play-caller continued next season, but Sacramento still disappointed, finishing the 2015-16 campaign with a 33-49 mark. Karl got axed in the offseason so there is history behind his comments about the Mike Brown firing.

George Karl ended his coaching career after his stint with the Sacramento Kings.