Mike Brown Is The NBA’s First Unanimous Coach Of The Year

For the second time in his career, Mike Brown has earned the NBA’s Coach of the Year honors.

In his first season in Sacramento, Brown led the Kings to the 3-seed in the West, snapping the league’s longest playoff drought in the process. Sacramento went 48-34 under Brown and transformed into the league’s top offense, as he tapped into the full potential of the De’Aaron Fox-Domantas Sabonis pairing by pushing them to play at a lightning quick pace.

Brown likewise won Coach of the Year in 2009 when he was at the helm of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the 2023 honor came with an historic distinction, as he is the first coach to win the award in unanimous fashion, earning all 100 first place votes from the media panel that votes on the award.

Mark Daigneault earned 48 second place votes for his work getting Oklahoma City to the Play-In this year in the West, while Joe Mazzulla, J.B. Bickerstaff, Michael Malone, Mike Budenholzer, Jacque Vaughn, Tom Thibodeau, Will Hardy, Taylor Jenkins, and Darvin Ham all garnered second place votes as well. Still, there was little doubt this season who would be the Coach of the Year, and Brown’s work was also recognized by his peers, as last week he was also given the NBA Coaches Association’s COY honor as well.