SACRAMENTO — Mike Brown’s Response to Being Fired
After getting let go by the Kings, Mike Brown didn’t exactly wallow at home. Instead, he took a trip—well, several trips, actually.
“When it happens, you just deal with it quickly and then my wife and I went to Australia for UFC 313,” Brown shared. “Then I went to Brooklyn, Puerto Vallarta, and St. Barts.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t mention all that. But, you know, life moves on. If you keep dwelling on what could have been, it can really wear you down. Life’s too brief for that.”
Brown has had to bounce back from being fired four times as an NBA coach, but losing his job in Sacramento felt particularly sudden and, honestly, a bit unfair.
On the Tuesday before his first game against the Kings since his dismissal just over a year ago, it was easier to see the bright side as he spoke after practice at the Golden 1 Center.
To his credit, Brown rebounded quickly. He’s now leading the Knicks (25-14), a team expected to contend for a championship, and they’re on track to win at least 50 games for the third year in a row.
In contrast, the Kings currently sit at 10-30, despite being on a two-game winning streak recently. Yet, they still seem to be grappling with the fallout of Brown’s departure.
Interestingly, he appears to have improved since the experience.
Looking back, Brown expressed that he has no regrets, though he wished for a healthier roster during his time. “We won 48 games the first year. If Kevin [Huerter] hadn’t been injured for two months and Malik [Monk] hadn’t missed the end of the season, we likely would’ve made the playoffs,” he reflected. It’s frustrating, knowing that things were often out of his control.
He recognizes that the Kings could’ve jeopardized his coaching future, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
There were whispers about tensions between Brown and players, particularly star point guard De’Aaron Fox. While the situation seemed to spiral with claims of differing opinions among the team, the explanations for his firing remained murky. Some suggested it was simply an impulsive decision by Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadivé.
Like David Fizdale in New York five years ago, Brown ended his practice and did interviews on the same day he was fired.
However, a key distinction is that Fizdale’s track record as a head coach was poor, while Brown had turned things around for the Kings and won Coach of the Year in 2022.
Teammate Josh Hart remarked, “I don’t know the exact details, but the way it has been reported often lacks respect. He’s a great person and has earned the respect of everyone around him.”
Regardless of how he ended up in Sacramento, Brown was not guaranteed another opportunity. The Knicks brought him on board after a series of attempts to recruit other coaches fell through, putting Brown in a more favorable light than a mere casualty.
Coaches rarely get a fourth chance, but now, Brown is back in Sacramento, feeling in a much better place than when he left the Kings. He hopes that when Wednesday’s fans see him, they’ll express their appreciation.
“Yeah, it’s emotional,” Brown admitted. “But at the end of the day, I know my fans support me. They want to see us go up against the Kings, and we want to match that energy.”
Hart, who has been traded three times, understands the complexities of such a situation. “We always say it’s just another game, but there’s usually more at play,” he said.
