Since taking over as Kings coach this season, Mike Brown has ushered in a new brand of Sacramento basketball, complete with a winning record to back up his methods.
And despite all that success, Kings star De'Aaron Fox knows his coach all too well when it comes to any discussion of Brown winning the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year award.
"I think he'd rather us be a better defensive team," Fox told reporters Friday night at Crypto.com Arena after the Kings' hard-fought 176-175 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in double overtime. "So, I think let's worry about that."
There has been plenty of hype surrounding Brown's candidacy for the award this season. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith most recently said Brown should win Coach of the Year "by a landslide" -- something Fox's teammate, Malik Monk, certainly agrees with, as he said in Friday's postgame press conference that Brown has "got to get it."
And while Fox might hold that same viewpoint, he believes the Kings still have much to accomplish if they want to guarantee Brown walks away with the award.
"I think that if we do step our defense up at the end of the season, I think it's a no-brainer, for sure," Fox continued. "I think he should still be it, but I'm preaching what he preaches."
Brown is known around the NBA as a defensive-minded coach who isn't afraid to lay into his team about improvements needed on that side of the floor. After the Kings surrendered 175 points to the Clippers, Fox knew exactly where his coach's head would be at -- and it didn't involved personal trophies.
But what Brown has done to help turn around Sacramento's fortune this season certainly deserves recognition, with the Kings on the cusp of their first NBA playoff appearance in 16 years.
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As Fox, Monk and Co. look to close out their final 23 regular-season games with a strong defensive presence, they hope to secure the best Western Conference playoff seed possible -- and, perhaps, a reward for their fearless leader.