The Kings made a strong hire in Mike Brown, who brings a defensive mind and strong pedigree to Sacramento. Here are five things every Kings fan should know about the squad's new head coach.
1. Mike Brown has posted a winning record in six of his eight seasons as an NBA head coach
In Mike Brown’s eight seasons as an NBA head coach, he’s only had two losing seasons – the 2012-13 season with the Lakers where he coached just five games and the 2013-14 season with the Cavs and a young Kyrie Irving. Outside of that, Brown has coached his teams to the playoffs six other times, amassing an all-time record of 563-347. His 61% career winning percentage puts the 2008-09 NBA Coach of the Year in the top 10 among coaches with more than 500 games under their belt.
| Coach | Winning Percentage |
|---|---|
| Phil Jackson | .704 |
| Billy Cunningham | .698 |
| Steve Kerr | .682 |
| K.C. Jones | .674 |
| Red Auerbach | .661 |
| Gregg Popovich | .657 |
| Pat Riley | .636 |
| Tom Heinsohn | .619 |
| Mike Brown | .616 |
| Jerry Sloan | .603 |
2. Brown has worked under some of the most successful head coaches in NBA history.
If NBA coaching trees and pedigrees have any bearing on coaching success, Mike Brown is well-suited to continue his career leading an NBA team. Brown began his NBA coaching career with the Wizards before spending three seasons with the Spurs under the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, Gregg Popovich. From there, he went on to spend two seasons under Rick Carlisle, who is also in the NBA’s top 15 of winningest coaches. Brown has spent the last six seasons working under Steve Kerr, helping the Warriors win two titles along the way.
3. Brown is a defensive-minded coach.
Since entering the NBA in 1997, Mike Brown’s teams have always played well on the defensive end. As a head coach, his teams have on finished outside of the top 15 in defensive rating just twice, and he continued that success as an assistant in Golden State. His impact was felt immediately upon his arrival in Cleveland, as the team improved from 14th in the NBA during his first season as coach to 4th in his second season.
| Team | Def. Rating (NBA Rank) | Opp PTS/G (NBA Rank) |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 Cavaliers | 105.4 (14th) | 95.4 (10th) |
| 2006-07 Cavaliers | 101.3 (4th) | 92.9 (5th) |
| 2007-08 Cavaliers | 106.4 (11th) | 96.7 (9th) |
| 2008-09 Cavaliers | 102.4 (3rd) | 91.4 (1st) |
| 2009-10 Cavaliers | 104.1 (7th) | 95.6 (6th) |
| 2011-12 Lakers | 104.4 (13th) | 95.9 (15th) |
| 2013-14 Cavaliers | 107.7 (19th) | 101.5 (16th) |
4. Brown coached Chris Webber the year before he came to Sacramento.
Mike Brown served as an assistant coach for the Wizards during Chris Webber’s time in Washington. Webber averaged 21.9 points and 9.5 rebounds that season and recorded his best defensive rating of his career up until that point. The rest is history, of course, as Webber joined the Kings the next season.
Webber isn’t the only big-name player Brown has had the opportunity to coach. As a head or assistant coach, he’s also had the chance to work with a long list of future or current Hall of Famers:
Tim Duncan
LeBron James
Kyrie Irving
Steve Kerr
David Robinson
Reggie Miller
Shaquille O’Neal
Kobe Bryant
Pau Gasol
Derek Fisher
Steph Curry
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Kevin Durant
5. Brown serves as Head Coach of the Nigerian national basketball team.
In addition to his achievements in the United States, Brown has found success coaching on the international level as well. In 2020, Brown was tapped to lead the Nigerian national basketball team. Since becoming coach, Brown not only led his squad to a No. 1 ranking in Africa but also to a victory over the United States in an exhibition match in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The win marked the first victory for any African country against the United States and featured a roster of eight current NBA players, including Kings forward Chimezie Metu.