The National Basketball Coaches Association announced today that Sacramento Kings Head Coach Mike Brown would be given the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award in 2023.
The Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award honors the dedication, commitment, and hard work of NBA Head Coaches. This award is presented annually to an NBA Head Coach who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance and shows outstanding service and dedication to the community off the court. It is done in Mr. Goldberg’s honor because he was the esteemed long-time Executive Director of the NBCA. He was the one who established the bar for devotion, integrity, love of the game, passionate representation, and relentless advocacy of NBA coaching. This award is one of a kind because it is decided upon by the winners’ contemporaries, the Head Coaches of all 30 NBA clubs.
Overall, votes were cast for five different head coaches, which, once again, reflects the breadth of coaching excellence across the NBA. In addition to Brown, the following Head Coaches received votes (listed alphabetically): Tom Thibodeau, head coach of the New York Knicks; Mike Budenholzer, head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks; Mark Daigneault, head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder; and Joe Mazzulla, head coach of the Boston Celtics.
Rick Carlisle, head coach of the Indiana Pacers and president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, congratulated Mike Brown on having “one of the best coaching jobs we’ve ever seen in this league.” “He single-handedly transformed the mindset and ethos of the Kings franchise and fan base, catapulting them into an incredible new era of success.”
During Coach Brown’s first season as Head Coach of the Sacramento Kings, the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2006. This marked the end of the longest playoff drought in NBA history and the longest active non-playoff skid in North American professional sports.
The Kings concluded the season with a record of 48-34, which is an improvement of 18 games compared to their record from the previous season and is the best turnaround in the NBA this year. In addition, the Kings won the Pacific Division championship for the first time since 2003.
The Kings concluded the season with a record of 25-16 away from home, which gave them the greatest road-winning percentage in the Western Conference.
Since moving to Sacramento in 1985, it has been exactly 38 years, and the Kings are participating in the playoffs for only the eleventh time.
Quickly becoming one of the most offensively productive teams in the NBA, Coach Brown took a relatively young squad with many potentials. With a scoring average of 120.7 points per game, the Kings were first in the league. They also led the NBA in offensive rating, scoring 118.6 points per game, the greatest single-season offensive rating recorded by the NBA since the league started tracking this statistic. In addition, the Kings finished in the top ten of the league in a variety of offensive statistics, including the following:
- First in offensive efficiency with 1.159;
- First in true shooting percentage with 60.8%;
- Second in effective field goal percentage with 57.2%;
- Second in field goal percentage with 49.4%;
- Third in assists with 27.3;
- Second in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.02;
- Third in assist ratio with 19.3;
- Seventh in assist percentage with 62.6%;
- Fourth in passes made with 299.4; and
- Third in potential assists with 49.7
Coach Brown was recognized as the Western Conference’s Coach of the Month for February 2023 and received the award.
Mike Brown, the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, said, “Being recognized by my colleagues as deserving of this award is very meaningful, and it is an honor that I genuinely cherish.” The National Basketball Association (NBA) is home to an impressive collection of head coaches, all deserving praise for how they steer their teams and carry out their responsibilities as coaches at the highest possible level daily. In my first season with the Kings, receiving this award was quite meaningful. It reflects the quality of individuals that Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox have assembled and who I have thoroughly enjoyed coaching. This accomplishment is a result of both of their efforts. I would also like to congratulate our medical team, who have been an essential part of our success and have worked hard to ensure that our athletes maintain the highest possible levels of health during the year. In addition, the members of our coaching staff have been an incredible resource in supporting our business and assisting me in striving toward my desire for perfection. Thirdly, this recognition is meaningful to me because it commemorates the legacy of Michael Goldberg, a personal friend who worked relentlessly for NBA coaches, always doing so with honesty and dignity.
According to David Fogel, NBCA Executive Director and General Counsel, “Mike Brown tremendously deserves this award and the accolades that come with the vote he received from his peers for Coach of the Year.”
“The effort, devotion, and attention that Coach Brown put into his craft and the development of his players led to the Kings having a season that changed the course of their franchise. Mike exemplifies the same high standards of honesty and perfection that Michael demonstrated every single day of his life. Congrats to Head Coach Brown, the Kings Assistant Coaches, and the rest of the basketball staff on being named the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year!
In 1980, only four years after the NBCA was established, Goldberg was appointed to the organization’s first Executive Director position. He oversaw the NBCA as it was experiencing some of the most rapid expansion in professional basketball history. He did this by expanding on the framework already in place. He was instrumental in the NBA Coaches’ Association, obtaining important benefits, including higher retirement money and disability insurance. Goldberg had previously worked for the American Basketball Association (ABA) as General Counsel before joining the NBCA.
The following individuals have previously been recognized as the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year:
- 2019: Mike Budenholzer;
- 2018: Dwane Casey;
- 2017: Mike D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra;
- 2022: Monty Williams;
- 2021: Monty Williams;
- 2020: Mike Budenholzer and Billy Donovan;
- 2022: Monty Williams;
- 2021: Monty Williams;
- 2022: Monty Williams;
- 2021: Monty Williams;
- 2022: Monty Williams;
- 2021: Monty Williams;
During the later stages of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the NBA will make the official announcement of the NBA Coach of the Year.
