CNN
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Amid early season woes, the Sacramento Kings have fired head coach Mike Brown, the team announced Friday.

The Kings, currently 13-18 this season and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, fired Brown halfway through his third season on the job.

Despite the difficulties of this season The 54-year-old has had some success at the helm of Sactown.

Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year for the second time in his career in his first season with the Kings in 2022-23 after helping Sacramento snap the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 seasons.

“This was a difficult decision and I would like to thank Mike for his many contributions to the organization,” Kings general manager Monte McNair said in a statement Friday.

Doug Christie was named the team’s interim coach.

The Kings had several Heavy defeats this season included a narrow defeat Thursday evening.

Sacramento lost to the Detroit Pistons 114-113 at the Golden1 Center after leading by 10 points with less than three minutes left.

Detroit fought back, culminating in Jaden Ivey converting one game-winning four-point play with three seconds left after he was fouled by Kings guard De’Aaron Fox.

Brown was seen at team practice and held a media session with reporters on Friday.

“When you go through tough times, you know who’s really there for you,” Brown told reporters of the team’s struggles. “People will quickly get off the bandwagon and the support – wherever it comes from – may not always be there.

“But that’s part of what I have to deal with. Not just for myself, but to keep everyone together. …And I’m okay with everyone criticizing me. Because again, I get paid to deal with this.”

The Kings are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference.

Brown had a 107-88 regular-season record in the California capital in more than two years.

Many coaches around the league showed their support for Brown, including Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernandez, who coached under Brown in Sacramento for the past few seasons.

“He is very good at what he does. In my opinion, he’s one of the best,” Fernandez told reporters before the Nets’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. “Without him I wouldn’t be here. Obviously this is really sad news for me and I don’t like it. But it’s part of the business.”

The firing also drew the ire of Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone. Malone was fired by the Kings during the 2014-2015 season.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Mike Brown was fired because I was fired by the same person,” Malone said. “…No lessons, no balls. That’s what I say about it.”

Brown previously coached the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers twice. He has a career record of 455-304 and made the playoffs in seven of his nine seasons as head coach. He has also won four NBA championships, including three as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings’ next game is scheduled for Saturday in Los Angeles against LeBron James and the Lakers.