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Tim BontempsESPN
Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown made it two awards in as many days for the Kings franchise as he cruised to a unanimous selection as the NBA’s Coach of the Year, which was announced on TNT Wednesday night.
“These honors don’t come around often, so you’re very appreciative of them,” Brown said during an interview on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” after being named the winner of the award.
Brown, who led Sacramento to its first playoff berth since 2006 this season in his first year leading the Kings, follows De’Aaron Fox, who won the NBA’s inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award Tuesday.
Brown claimed every single one of the 100 first-place votes to claim the Red Auerbach Trophy, which was redesigned this year as part of an overhaul of the NBA’s awards. Brown becomes the first unanimous winner of the NBA’s Coach of the Year award.
As a result, Brown easily outpaced Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daignault, who led the Thunder to a play-in tournament appearance, and Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who led Boston to the second-best record in the NBA after taking over for Ime Udoka days before the start of training camp after Udoka was suspended for the season for multiple violations of team rules. Daignault and Mazzulla finished second and third, respectively, and 11 other coaches received at least one second- or third-place vote.
“I had to make sure I understood what their strengths were, and I had to accept being able to play to their strengths,” Brown said when asked how he approached handling his new team in the fall.
He also was asked on the show about the NBA’s decision to suspend Draymond Green for Game 3 of Sacramento’s first-round series against the Warriors after he stomped on Kings star Domantas Sabonis and was ejected from Game 2. The Kings will enter Thursday’s game with a 2-0 lead in the series. Brown spent the past several years as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Warriors.
Brown said Sabonis is “fine” and will play in Game 3.
“I told our guys this,” Brown said. “We need to control two things … we need to control our level of physicality, and that has to be up from the regular season, because we weren’t good in that area.
“And then I said we have to play with pace. So I’ve been yelling at our guys that we have to be doing the two P’s.”
Brown’s Coach of the Year award follows Fox winning the Clutch Player award Tuesday and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. winning the Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday. The NBA will announce its Sixth Man of the Year award winner Thursday.