By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Sacramento Kings officially bade goodbye to the man who helped them end their 16-year NBA Playoff drought.
In an unexpected turn of events on December 28, 2024, the Kings pulled off a major stunner after firing head coach Mike Brown with only 31 games into the young NBA regular season.
Sacramento’s front office decision came after they gave away the game against the Detroit Pistons where they squandered a 19-point lead and lost, 114-113.
The Kings almost ended their NBA dry spell but a frustrating sequence in the final three seconds spoiled their chances of returning to the winning column when De’Aaron Fox fouled Jaden Ivey in a converted three-point make.
Unfortunately, Ivey’s four-point play became the game-winner, leaving the Western Conference squad with their fifth consecutive defeat.
According to multiple reports, Brown called out Fox due to his poor defense on Ivey during their official team practice the day after they lost.
Brown was then fired when he was running the practice run-through and before the whole team boarded their flight to Los Angeles where they would be playing the Lakers.
In the first 31 games of the season, the Kings finished with a dismal showing of 13 wins and 18 losses, their worst start since Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year award last year.
The Sacramento fan base set a high expectation for their team before the 2024-2025 NBA season started when they landed DeMar DeRozan during the off-season.
However, the team is currently not living up to the hype and is ranked as the 12th squad in the Western Conference, just three wins better than the Portland Trailblazers.
Before the Kings ousted Brown, the seasoned tactician helped create the system that enabled them to reach the playoffs after 16 disappointing seasons.
With a vast experience and knowledge after working side-by-side with the Golden State Warriors as their assistant coach from 2016-2022, Brown emulated the run-and-gun system that fitted well to their young core of Fox, Malik Monk, Domantas Sabonis, Kevin Huerter, and Keegan Murray.
Now that Brown is gone, the Kings deployed assistant coach Doug Christie as their interim chief tactician for the rest of the regular season games.
