Former head coach of Nigeria men’s national basketball team, Mike Brown has been voted the NBA’s Coach of the Year for his outstanding exploits in the 2022–23 season with the Sacramento Kings.
The 53-year-old, who was formerly an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, beat out finalists Mark Daigneault (OKC Thunder) and Joe Mazzulla (Boston Celtics) by unanimous votes to win the inaugural Red Auerbach trophy.
He won all the first-place votes from the 100-member panel of reporters and broadcasters, for a total of 500 points, while Daigneault, who also had a fine season with the Thunder, came in second with 164 points, and Mazzulla, who replaced Ime Udoka in the Celtics and led them to the second-best record in the league, was in third with 77 points.
Mike Brown is the first unanimous winner of the NBA Coach of the Year Award, which has been presented annually since the 1962-63 season. https://t.co/8xqJUTdOxB
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 19, 2023
Brown led the Kings to their first winning season and first playoffs since 2006. Their 48-34 win-loss record was the seventh-best record in the league, and it meant they finished the regular season as one of the top seven teams for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
The four-time NBA champion, as an assistant coach with Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and Steve Kerr (Warriors), ensured the Kings led the league in points per game.
They also had the best road record in the Western Conference and won a division title (the Pacific Division) for the first time since 2003.
Brown, however, is not a stranger to the award, with the first being when he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 66-16 record in the 2008-09 season.
He becomes the 11th individual to win the NBA’s Coach of the Year award more than once, joining three-time recipients Pat Riley, Popovich, and Don Nelson.
