The Sacramento Kings fired coach Mike Brown on Friday, a team source confirmed, after falling 0-5 at home to 12th place in the Western Conference two months into a regular season that began with high internal expectations.

Brown, who signed a three-year contract extension in June, was 31 games into his third season in Sacramento. The Kings won 48 and 46 games, respectively, in his first two seasons, famously ending their 16-year playoff drought in 2023, the same season he was unanimously named Coach of the Year. Sacramento lost in the play-in tournament last spring.

Brown’s final game was Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons. The Kings led by 19 points in the third quarter and 10 with under three minutes left, but blew the lead in agonizing fashion.

De’Aaron Fox – the team’s star guard whose future with the franchise is becoming increasingly uncertain – lost focus and fouled Jayden Ivey behind the 3-point line with the Kings leading by three points. Ivey made the three-pointer and free throw to cap the Detroit comeback, and Brown later gave a scathing, frustrated press conference in which he criticized Fox’s error and the team’s general inability to commit to the details.

Brown led the Kings’ afternoon practice on Friday and was subsequently spotted by local reporters speaking to Fox. He held his typical post-practice interview and was preparing to board a plane to Los Angeles for the team’s road game Saturday night against the Lakers when the organization decided to let him go.

It is not yet known who will take over in the meantime. Jay Triano is the senior member of the assistant coaching staff, which also includes former Kings forward Doug Christie. Alvin Gentry, who most recently took over for the Kings midseason after Luke Walton was fired, is currently in the front office.

The Kings are 13-18 and are in a slump after signing DeMar DeRozan this offseason in hopes of taking the next step toward becoming a more permanent playoff contender before the Fox era is late.

News of Brown’s firing was first reported by ESPN.

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