After clinching their first playoff appearance in 2006, the Sacramento Kings can owe a lot of its phenomenal success to the NBA’s first unanimous Coach of the Year Mike Brown.
They may have lost to the defending champions Golden State Warriors in a hard-fought seven-game series, but this year can still be considered a huge turnaround for the team, and proof that Brown will lunge them forward in the seasons to come.
More than just the playoffs
Fresh off winning an NBA championship with the Warriors last summer with Coach Steve Kerr, Brown arrived in Sacramento with the mentality of transforming his young team to the same caliber. Just like the players, he knew that there were numerous challenges to be faced in an organization and city that were dealing with nearly two decades of postseason drought.
Brown definitely rose to the occasion. In just a few short months, he changed the image of Kings basketball. In his first season, he has propelled the players to a whole new level.
He instructed Keegan Murray to just let it fly when his shots aren’t falling. He has unlocked the offense of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, encouraging them to find their sweet spots and just shoot as long as they are making the right decisions with the ball.
That’s the only way you learn in the big moments like the playoffs. Brown repeated this over and over again, building the confidence of a young team—who were all first-timers on the big playoff stage.
With Brown though, it’s not only about making it to the playoffs. When the Kings officially secured the Western Conference’s No. 3 playoff seed, he wasn’t exactly satisfied. That kind of mindset carried over to the whole team, and the hunger for a deep playoff run and an NBA title became more intense.
The change in culture has been the critical X-factor for an inexperienced team like the Kings. It has shown how important the relationship between a player and a coach is. He used his experience and loud personality to create the best overall season of his career. From the way he has handled the Kings, Fox was voted the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award and Sabonis garnered his third All-Star appearance last December.
Chasing perfection
When Fox was asked what element Coach Brown brought to the team, which allowed them to work well this season, Fox said one word – accountability.
Brown will call a timeout in the first 30 seconds of a game if he sees the smallest flaw in their defensive play. He will sit players down, even if they’re the main guys, if they aren’t giving their 100% in guarding their matchups. The small practices that he has shown on the court have made such a huge impact as the players were made to maximize their talent and potential every time they were on the floor.
Even if he didn’t get 100 out of 100 votes in the Coach of the Year award, Brown has definitely made such a positive impact on the team and the whole city. It’s only his first year here and all signs point to him making more drastic changes in the following seasons.
The Kings’ Cinderella run is not yet over so buckle up and enjoy as Brown and the Kings are going to just get better and better.
