Michael Burton Brown (born March 5, 1970) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach who is the head coach for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Brown was previously the head coach of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, and most recently an assistant coach for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He is also the head coach of the Nigerian national team. Brown began coaching the

in 2005. The team reached the 2007 NBA Finals, where they were swept by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. Brown was honored as

NBA Coach of the Year The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led ...

for leading the Cavaliers to a team-record and league-best 66 wins in 2009. The Cavaliers won 61 games, again a league-best, in 2010. However, after the Cavaliers lost to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Brown was fired. Brown succeeded

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

as the head coach of the

in 2011 before being fired after the start of the 2012–13 season. He returned to the Cavaliers in 2013, but was fired after the 2013–14 season. Brown then joined the Golden State Warriors as associate head coach in 2016; the team went on to defeat the Cavaliers in the

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and 2018 NBA Finals, and the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.

Early years

Brown was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, but spent periods of his childhood overseas. He graduated in 1988 from Würzburg American High School in Würzburg, Germany, where he excelled in basketball and football. After studying and playing basketball for two years at

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the United States in ter ...

, Brown went on to the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

, where he played two seasons of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

San Diego Toreros The San Diego Toreros are the 17 teams representing the University of San Diego of San Diego, California in intercollegiate athletics. The Toreros compete in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of the National Collegiate At ...

and graduated in 1992 with a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

degree.

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs

In 2000, Brown was hired by

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who is the president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Taking over as coach of the Spur ...

as an assistant coach with the

. He also was the head coach for the Spurs' summer league teams in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. The Spurs won an NBA championship in 2003 while Brown was on their coaching staff.

Indiana Pacers

In 2003, Brown was hired as associate head coach under

Rick Carlisle Richard Preston Carlisle ( ; born October 27, 1959) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroi ...

with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. He helped lead Indiana to consecutive playoff appearances, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004. Brown followed

Ron Artest Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

into the stands and was instrumental in getting him back to the locker room during the massive brawl between the Pacers,

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

, and Pistons fans at the Palace at Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004. Brown remained with the Pacers for two seasons.

Cleveland Cavaliers

In June 2005, Brown replaced

Brendan Malone Brendan Thomas Malone (born April 21, 1942) is an American basketball coach. Early life Malone grew up in Astoria, Queens in New York City and graduated from Rice High School. Malone's father, also named Brendan, unloaded freight cars for the R ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

. It was his first NBA head coaching position. Brown became the second-youngest coach in the league (trailing only

Lawrence Frank Lawrence Adam Frank (born August 23, 1970) is an American basketball coach who is currently working as the President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as head c ...

). When Brown arrived in Cleveland, the Cavs had missed the playoffs in emerging superstar

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

's first two NBA seasons and had not made the playoffs since 1998. Under Brown, they won 50 games, made the 2005–06 playoffs, and won their first-round series. On June 2, 2007, Brown's Cavaliers defeated the

in the Eastern Conference Finals and advanced to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

for the first time in franchise history. However, they were swept in four games by his former team, the

. On February 1, 2008, Brown was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January 2008. In 2009, Brown was named coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. On April 20, 2009, Brown was named

after guiding the Cavaliers to a league-high and franchise-best 66–16 record. The Cavs won a league-high 61 games in the 2009–10 season. However, the team was eliminated by the

in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 13, 2010. With this loss, the Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to win 60 games in back-to-back seasons without advancing to the NBA Finals. Brown was fired on May 24, 2010, due to the owner Dan Gilbert wanting to lure LeBron James back to Cleveland. Under Brown's leadership, the Cavs made it past the first round of the NBA playoffs for five consecutive seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers

On May 25, 2011, Brown agreed to succeed

as head coach of the

. He reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with a team option to renew his contract for a fourth year. On May 31, 2011, he was officially named the Lakers' new head coach. The 2011–12 season was shortened to 66 games by the lockout that season, and the Lakers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. Before the 2012–13 season, Brown decided that the Lakers would use a version of the

Princeton offense The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, back-door cuts, picks on and off the ball, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots ma ...

. Shortly afterward, the Lakers acquired All-Stars Steve Nash and

Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team m ...

, giving them a starting lineup of five former All-Stars with a combined 33 All-Star game appearances (the other former All-Stars were

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

, and

Metta World Peace Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr.; November 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Ron Artest before legally changing his name to Metta World Peace in 2011 and later to Metta Sandifor ...

, respectively). Although immediately considered top title contenders, the Lakers struggled to adjust to the changes in both system and personnel, and were winless in eight preseason games. The team's travails continued into the start of the regular season, with the team losing four of its first five games. Nash had played just games due to injury, Howard was playing but recovering from back surgery, and Bryant had been playing with an injured foot and was unable to practice. On November 9, 2012, Brown was fired. The Lakers felt an urgency to win given their aging stars, Howard's pending free agency, and owner

Jerry Buss Gerald Hatten Buss (January 27, 1933 – February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 l ...

's deteriorating health. Brown's dismissal after five games was the third-fastest coaching change in NBA history.

Cleveland Cavaliers (second stint)

On April 24, 2013, Brown was rehired by the Cavaliers, replacing

Byron Scott Byron Antom Scott (born March 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, Scott won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their ...

as head coach. Cavaliers owner

Dan Gilbert Daniel Gilbert (born January 17, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Association' ...

said that firing Brown the first time was a "mistake". For the first time as a head coach, Brown's team posted a losing record over an 82-game season as his team was marred by injuries and reported infighting in the locker room. On May 12, 2014, he was fired by Gilbert a second time.

Golden State Warriors

On July 4, 2016, the

hired Brown as an assistant coach; he replaced

Luke Walton Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 10 seasons in the NBA as a fo ...

, who departed for a head coaching position with the

. Brown acted as acting head coach during periods in which head coach Steve Kerr was unable to do so due to chronic

back pain Back pain is pain felt in the back. It may be classified as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar) or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain) based on the segment affected. The lumbar area is the most common area ...

. Brown led the Warriors to a 12–0 record in the 2016–17 NBA playoffs while Kerr was absent; the Warriors went on to win the championship in five games that year, defeating the

. The Warriors finished the playoffs with a 16–1 record, the best postseason winning percentage in NBA history. The Warriors went back to the Finals in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and defeated the

in the Finals for the second straight year. During these two finals he faced off against LeBron James whom he had coached for five years in Cleveland. On May 9, 2022, he was the Warriors' acting head coach for Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

after Kerr tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The team won the game to take a 3–1 lead in the series. The Warriors made it to the 2022 NBA Finals where they defeated the

in six games to give Brown his fourth NBA championship as an assistant coach and third championship with the Warriors overall.

Sacramento Kings

On May 9, 2022, Brown was announced as the next head coach of the

. His tenure with the team began after the Warriors finished their 2021–22 season where they won an NBA championship.

National team career

On February 5, 2020, he was announced as the new head coach of Nigerian national team.

Head coaching record

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Mike 1970 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Ohio Basketball players from Columbus, Ohio Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Mesa Thunderbirds men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers head coaches National Basketball Association broadcasters Nigerian Olympic coaches San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches San Diego Toreros men's basketball players Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio Washington Wizards assistant coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople