Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair. Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Kings GM Monte McNair named NBA Executive of the Year

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 5/4/23

The Sacramento Kings finally got back to the playoffs this season, snapping a 16-year postseason drought. The Kings took the world-champion Golden State Warriors to seven games in the first round.

They ended up going home, but they announced to the NBA that they have one of the best young rosters in the league and a great head coach in Mike Brown, who was the unanimous NBA Coach of the Year.

The Kings can play with anybody, and they're going to be a contender moving forward. As such, general manager Monte McNair has been named the NBA Executive of the Year — and it's a well-deserved honor.

Monte McNair is your 2022-23 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year pic.twitter.com/I8Qe8XD6EM
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) May 3, 2023

McNair's fingerprints were all over this 2022-23 Sacramento team.

In May 2022, he hired Brown — who was the head coach for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010. Brown had been an assistant coach for Golden State since 2016, but McNair gave him a chance and he undoubtedly resurrected his career.

McNair signed Malik Monk as a free agent, who averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season and impressively, 19 points per game in the playoffs. He also traded for Kevin Huerter midseason, who became one heck of a role player for Sacramento. Speaking of, McNair drafted Keegan Murray fourth overall in the 2022 draft, and the former Iowa small forward developed into a potent role player — averaging 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a rookie.

Thanks to McNair and his vision for the Kings in 2022-23 and moving forward, Sacramento can look forward to "lighting the beam" for many years into the future.

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