Kings fire coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his 3rd season

The Sacramento Kings have fired coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his third season with the team mired in a five-game losing streak.

General manager Monte McNair called the move Friday a “difficult decision” and thanked Brown for his work. Assistant Doug Christie will take over as interim coach, with his first game coming Saturday night at the Los Angeles Lakers.

Brown was the unanimous choice for NBA Coach of the Year in his first season in 2022-23, when he helped Sacramento end the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 seasons.

But Sacramento lost in the play-in tournament last year and was off to a 13-18 start this season, leading to the move to fire Brown about six months after he agreed to a contract extension through the 2026-27 season.