Every year, the NBA Coach of the Year typically is a close race between a couple of deserving candidates. This year, though, it seems pretty obvious.
This offseason, Kings coach Mike Brown joined a franchise that hadn't made a playoff appearance in an NBA-record 16 seasons. They lacked culture, they lacked discipline. And in just six months with Brown as the head coach, all of that changed.
Sacramento fans noticed the impact Brown had on the team almost instantly. And with just one week remaining in the regular season, it looks like the rest of the league is beginning to notice, too.
"I voted for Mike Brown," Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told reporters Monday (h/t Clemente Almanza). "That team hasn't made the playoffs in a long time. And I think because of that, there was an external stigma that existed around that team. And I really admire the energy he brought to that job when he got that job because it wasn't just a matter of going somewhere and maximizing the personnel, I thought that he really has brought a swagger and confidence to a group and to an organization that, externally at least, looked like it needed it because they hadn't made the playoffs in a long time.
"And it's been kind of a punchline. He's leaned right into that. And I have a lot of admiration for the cultural flip that he's been able to do there because they carry themselves with great confidence. That's who I voted for. No slight on the other great coaches that have had great years, but I just have a particular admiration for the way that he's gone about it this year."
Daigneault isn't the only one, either.
NBC Sports California's Mark Jones spoke with three other NBA coaches who had a similar outlook on the award.
Brown has helped shift the narrative of NBA basketball in Sacramento. The Kings (47-31) are the No. 3 seed in the West and officially clinched their first playoff berth since 2006.
The coach understands the significance of what ending the playoff drought means to the franchise and the city, but he isn't satisfied with just that. And thanks to the help of his discipline, the team isn't either.
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Sacramento is on a mission for more. De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are having career years and leading a historically great offense.
As head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown won the award for his efforts during the 2008-09 season. His second one doesn't seem too far away and is certainly well-deserved.