It was a banner year for Mike Brown and the Kings.
Sacramento finished with the best record in the Pacific Division, as well as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference — and made the playoffs for the first time since before the iPhone was invented (2006).
Brown, in his first season with the Kings, was named NBA Coach of the Year. There wasn’t really even a close second.
The Kings did it with the coaching of Brown, the play of standout point guard De’Aaron Fox and power forward Domantas Sabonis, and plenty of help all the way around.
So, what do they do for an encore?
Well, according to Brown, you continue on with what started last season.
“We’re a good team,” Brown told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “We established that narrative with our play last year and our connectivity and work throughout the summer. Now, we’ve got to continue building on that.
“We’ve got to go from good to great. Our expectations aren’t just to make the playoffs again. We know that’s who we are. Our expectations are to go from good to great and be an NBA champion, just like every other team out there, that’s competing as hard as we feel like we’re going to compete this year.”
And yes, the combination of Fox and Sabonis sure isn’t going to hurt when it comes to the Kings reaching their goals.
“Those two guys have to continue taking leaps forward, but part of the reason why we brought so many guys back is because I firmly believe in order to have a winning culture at the highest level, you have to have a core of guys that you believe in and are able to play together year after year so that connectivity can grow to an insurmountable level,” Brown told Scotto.
“This is our first year of trying to bring our guys back to establish that core, so that means everybody we bring back has to elevate their game. Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes all have to elevate their game, especially knowing the way we like to play on both ends of the floor.”
If it all plays out as Brown envisions it, then yeah. There’s no reason the Kings can’t just be good, but take that next step. And be great indeed.
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