The Sacramento Kings have fired third-year head coach Mike Brown, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Friday.
The decision to fire Brown comes as the Kings are mired in a five-game losing streak – the longest since January 2022 – with all five losses coming on home court. Sacramento started the season at 13-18 on Friday, three games back after earning a berth in a play-in game.
Sacramento has struggled to close out games this season, losing five games after holding the lead entering the fourth quarter. According to ESPN Research, only the Toronto Raptors suffer more such losses, with seven.
In his first season in Sacramento in 2022-23, Brown won Coach of the Year while leading the Kings to the No. 1 ranking before losing in seven games to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. That ended a 16-season drought without a playoff appearance for the Kings, the longest streak in NBA history.
Brown ends his Kings tenure with a .549 winning percentage, the fourth-best by a head coach in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.
The resignation comes after Brown agreed to a contract extension through 2026-2027 in June.