So much transpired for Mike Brown over the past 13 months.
His firing as the Sacramento Kings’ head coach on Dec. 27, 2024, stunned the sports world and sparked outrage among opposing coaches.
His hiring as the Knicks’ head coach in July followed a similarly unexpected parting of ways between that franchise and Tom Thibodeau.
And while the Knicks already played the Kings in Sacramento earlier this month — marking Brown’s first time facing his former team — Tuesday night’s rematch at Madison Square Garden offered another opportunity to reflect on the saga.
Here’s a look back at everything that led to Brown becoming the Knicks’ head coach:
BROWN BEGINS KINGS TENURE
When the Kings hired Brown before the 2022-23 season, the mission was clear.
Sacramento had not been to the playoffs since 2006, nor had it finished with a winning record even once during that time frame.
Brown arrived with a winning pedigree. As head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown advanced to the NBA Finals in 2007 and won NBA Coach of the Year in 2009.
As an assistant, Brown won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and three more with the Golden State Warriors in 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Fresh off of a 32-50 season, the Kings were eager for Brown to turn things around.
IMMEDIATE SUCCESS
Brown did just that, implementing a high-powered offense centered on point guard De’Aaron Fox and forward Domantas Sabonis that transformed the Kings.
With an emphasis on tempo and 3-point shooting, the Kings averaged an NBA-best 120.7 points per game in 2022-23 while setting a league record for efficiency at 118.6 points per 100 possessions.
Sacramento finished 48-34 and as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference to snap its 16-year playoff drought — the longest in NBA history.
The Kings then lost their first-round playoff series against Brown’s former team, the defending champion Warriors, in seven games.
Brown was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year for 2022-23 — and became the first to win the award unanimously.
SECOND SEASON IN SACRAMENTO
The win-loss record wasn’t all that different in Brown’s second season, as the Kings went 46-36 in 2023-24.
But injuries to Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter derailed the Kings down the stretch, and they dropped eight of their final 13 regular-season games to finish as the West’s No. 9 seed.
The Kings beat the Warriors in the first game of the Play-In Tournament, but they lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round and missed the playoffs.
CONTRACT EXTENSION
With a 94-70 record through two years, Brown signed a contract extension in July 2024 that would pay him $8.5 million annually through the 2026-27 season.
Notably, Fox declined to sign an extension that summer, and later said on “The Draymond Green Show” that he wanted to make sure the Kings showed they could continue to improve and “compete at a high level.”
THIRD SEASON WITH KINGS
The Kings retooled that offseason by adding DeMar DeRozan and re-signing Monk, elevating expectations going into 2024-25.
But the Kings got off to a 13-18 start — including 3-11 in games decided by five points or fewer — before they fired Brown less than seven months after he signed his extension.
Brown finished his Kings tenure with a 107-88 (.549) record.
Sacramento’s decision drew criticism from multiple NBA coaches, with Rick Carlisle saying he was “absolutely shocked,” Steve Kerr calling it “really shocking” and Michael Malone saying the Kings handled it with “no class.”
Less than two months later, the Kings traded Fox to the Spurs.
“I was like, ‘Yo, I’ve been here for going on my eighth year. If Mike gets fired, I’ll be going on my fifth coach,’” Fox told ESPN in March. “And I told them, ‘I’m not going to play for another coach. I’m going to play for another team.’”
Doug Christie replaced Brown as head coach, and the Kings went 27-24 the rest of the way before losing in the Play-In Tournament to the Dallas Mavericks.
HIRED BY KNICKS
Less than six months after his time with the Kings ended, the Knicks’ head-coaching job became open with their firing of Thibodeau.
The Knicks had just advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, but they sought a more collaborative voice to take them to the next level.
“We went as far as we did last year,and so you really got to take your hat off to Tom and the job that he did,” Knicks owner James Dolan said this month on WFAN.
“But we did come to the conclusion that we had an idea of how we wanted to organize the team … and that meant we needed to evolve, actually beyond the old traditional coaching formulas, etc. And we tried to work that with Tom. It really wasn’t his thing.”
After an exhaustive month-long coaching search, the Knicks hired Brown.
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
The Knicks entered Tuesday with a 27-18 record and, despite a recent 2-9 slump, were the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
They won the NBA Cup last month.
Sacramento, meanwhile, entered Tuesday with a 12-35 record under Christie this season and are 39-59 (.398) overall since firing Brown.
One of those wins did come against the Knicks, 112-101, on Jan. 14 in Sacramento.
Before that game, Brown acknowledged feeling “a little emotional” about returning to his old stomping grounds, though he said his main focus was on winning the game.
“I can’t control what things are being said,” Brown said at the time. “Anybody can jump on the internet and post something and to some degree, you may think it’s real. You can’t control that. You’ve just gotta put your head down, keep pushing forward and be the best you can.”
