The Kings' 2024-25 season has gone sideways and general manager Monte McNair has seen enough.
Sacramento fired head coach Mike Brown on Friday, the team announced Friday night, one day after the team collapsed in a brutal 114-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Golden 1 Center.
“This was a difficult decision, and I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to the organization," McNair wrote in a statement.
Doug Christie will serve as interim head coach, the Kings announced. Christie, a 15-year NBA veteran who played in Sacramento for five seasons, has been an assistant with the team since the 2021-22 season.
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ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the news earlier Monday, a few minutes after Brown spoke to reporters following the conclusion of practice.
The Kings have lost five consecutive games and sit at 13-18 entering Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
Sacramento also owns an unimaginable 6-12 record at home this season.
NBA
The stunning move to dismiss Brown comes just five months after he signed a multiyear contract extension, reportedly believed to be a three-year, $30 million deal.
The Kings entered this season with heightened expectations after acquiring six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls.
DeRozan's addition to All-Stars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk and former No. 4 overall draft pick Keegan Murray was supposed to give the Kings one of the NBA's best cores.
But Sacramento's roster has struggled to find consistency. While DeRozan, Fox and Sabonis all are averaging at least 20.8 points per game this season, it's not translating to wins.
And as the losses piled up, Brown's seat began to heat up. The final straw was an 0-5 homestand that featured losses to the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers (twice), Indiana Pacers and Pistons.
Brown's hiring in May 2022 was the spark that the Kings needed, and in his first season in Sacramento, the franchise ended its 16-season playoff drought, bringing hope to the city. He also won the NBA's Coach of the Year award that season.
Despite losing their first-round NBA playoff series to the Warriors, things were looking up for the Kings. They followed it up with a 46-36 record last season, which only got them into the Western Conference play-in tournament.
The Kings beat the Warriors in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game, but they lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in the game to determine the No. 8 seed and advance to a first-round playoff series.
And now an unacceptable start to this season cost Brown his job.
If the Kings don't turn things around quickly, more seismic changes could be on the horizon.
