Source: Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown wins Rudy Tomjanovich Award. Here’s why he won
The Kings added to an already impressive collection of postseason awards Tuesday when coach Mike Brown was honored yet again for the stellar work he did during his first season in Sacramento.
The Professional Basketball Writers Association will soon announce Brown has won the 2023 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, a league source told The Sacramento Bee. The award honors an NBA coach for his cooperation with the media and fans along with his excellence on the court.
Brown has been friendly and engaging in his interactions with fans and reporters who covered the Kings as they reached the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. He frequently offers a smile, a humorous sound bite or a thoughtful response to a question from the media.
At the beginning of the season, Brown welcomed a group of journalists to stay after practice to participate in a walkthrough so he could demonstrate basic principles of his team’s offensive and defensive sets. Later in the year, while responding to a question during his postgame press conference, Brown invited a reporter to the podium so he could draw up a play on paper.
The Rudy Tomjanovich Award is named after the former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers coach who was known for being professional and respectful with the media. Tomjanovich compiled a 527-416 (.559) record with seven playoff appearances over 13 seasons as an NBA coach. He won back-to-back NBA championships with the Rockets in 1994-95 and led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Brown was chosen based on a vote of PBWA members, which include more than 200 writers and editors who cover the NBA. Brown was one of five finalists nominated by PBWA members. The others were Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls, Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors, Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets and Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Previous winners of the Rudy Tomjanovich Award include Stan Van Gundy (2017), Kerr (2018), Rivers (2019) and Nick Nurse (2020). The award was not presented the past two years, largely due to the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions.
Brown’s trophy case started filling up when he was named National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year on April 13. A week later, he was named NBA Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, becoming the first person ever unanimously selected by a panel of 100 journalists and broadcasters who vote on the award.
This has been a banner year for in-season accolades and postseason awards in Sacramento. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis were honored as NBA All-Stars and All-NBA Third Team selections while helping the Kings end the longest playoff drought in league history. Fox also won the inaugural Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year Award.
In addition, Kevin Huerter was invited to the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. Keegan Murray, who broke the rookie record for 3-point goals, was a Rising Stars participant and an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. Two-way center Neemias Queta was runner-up for the NBA G League MVP award. Stockton Kings general manager Paul Johnson was named G League Basketball Executive of the Year and Kings general manager Monte McNair was named NBA Executive of the Year.
Also, Sacramento’s athletic training staff was named NBATA Athletic Training Staff of the Year and Miguel Lopez was honored as NBAEMA Equipment Manager of the Year.
