Sacramento’s Mike Brown named unanimous Coach of the Year

When he wasintroduced last June as coach of the Sacramento Kings, Mike Browndidn’t make any grand proclamations or wild predictions.

He talkedabout work. He talked about culture. He talked about winning.

“One of themain reasons I was brought here,” Brown said that day, “was tobring some leadership.”

Ask around,and no coach did a better job leading this season than Brown. Hewas announced Wednesday as the unanimous winner of the NBA’s Coachof the Year award, an easy call after his first season inSacramento saw the Kings make the playoffs for the first time since2006. All 100 voters from a panel of reporters and broadcasters hadBrown atop their ballot.

“Thesehonors don’t come around often so you’re very appreciative ofthem,” Brown said on the TNT broadcast of the announcement. “I’mreally appreciative of being in Sacramento. The fans, the city hasbeen fantastic.”

Brown wonthe award for the second time, adding this trophy to the one he gotafter he and LeBron James led Cleveland to a 66-16 record in the2008-09 season. The other finalists this season were OklahomaCity’s Mark Daigneault and Boston’s Joe Mazzulla.

Daigneaultwas second, Mazzulla third, and 14 coaches got at least one vote onthe ballots where the selection panel was asked to pick theirfirst-, second- and third-place choices.

The Kingswere 48-34, the seventh-best record in the league and the firsttime they were a top-seven team since 2003-04. They led the leaguein points per game, had the best road record in the WesternConference, snapped a run of 16 consecutive losing seasons and wona division title for the first time since 2003.

“Accountability has been big since Day 1,” Kings guard De’Aaron Foxsaid. “When he was hired, I told him that’s the most importantthing, I felt like, to me was just being able to hold everybodyaccountable. … That’s definitely the biggest thing.”

Brown’svictory was the third major event for the Kings in three days. OnMonday, they beat Golden State for a 2-0 series lead in theirWestern Conference first-round matchup. On Tuesday, Fox wasannounced as the inaugural winner of the NBA’s clutch player of theyear award. Wednesday brought the coaching award — and Thursdaywill see Sacramento trying to take a 3-0 lead over the defendingchampion Warriors.

Brown wasthere last year with Golden State as an assistant coach, winninghis fourth NBA title, all as an assistant — the first under GreggPopovich in San Antonio, the other three under Steve Kerr with theWarriors.

“Everybodyin our building just feels so happy for Mike and strongly aboutwhat he did for us while he for us while he was here, how much hecontributed to our championships here and our culture,” Kerr saidbefore the Kings-Warriors series started. “We miss him, but we’rethrilled that he had this amazing season.”

Brownbecomes the 11th person to win the NBA’s coach award more thanonce, joining three-time recipients Pat Riley, Popovich and DonNelson, along with fellow two-time winners Gene Shue, Bill Fitch,Hubie Brown, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Mike D’Antoni, Tom Thibodeau andMike Budenholzer.

Until now,Toronto’s Nick Nurse was the record-holder for the most votes in aCoach of the Year race, getting 90 first-place picks in 2020. AndBrown topped two highly deserving finalists on his way to theunanimous win.

Daigneaultgot Oklahoma City into the play-in tournament and a game from theNo. 8 seed in a season where the Thunder were widely expected tostruggle — especially after Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in lastyear’s draft, suffered a foot injury over the summer and would missthe entire season.

Mazzullawasn’t even supposed to be a head coach this year, then was forcedto take over just before training camp when Boston suspended ImeUdoka following the disclosure of an inappropriate relationshipwith a female team employee. But Mazzulla, only 34, led Boston tothe second-best record in the NBA and did so well that the Celticsremoved the interim title and installed him as the full-fledgedcoach in February.