The Sacramento Kings have decided to fire head coach Mike Brown after the team's rough 13-18 start to the season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

With Brown gone, assistant Doug Christie is expected to be named the Kings' interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Brown, 54, joined the Kings as their head coach prior to the 2022-23 season. In his first year with the organization, he led the team to a 48-34 season and a playoff appearance, their first since 2006. He went on to be named the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year as a result. Although the Kings missed the playoffs last year, they still finished the 2023-24 season with a 46-36 record.

A decision to fire Brown has sent shockwaves throughout the NBA, as this wasn't a move many around the league expected. While Brown was surely on the hot seat, his departure prior to the All-Star break and the trade deadline creates many questions as to what direction this franchise will head in, especially regarding possible trades and De'Aaron Fox's future.

This past June, Brown signed a three-year extension with the Kings to remain their head coach through 2027 given his success over the last two seasons. Brown was the first Kings coach since Rick Adelman in 2005 and 2006 to win at least 40 games in back-to-back seasons. Now, Brown is no longer the coach in Sacramento before this extension even began.

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The Kings' decision to fire Brown comes in the middle of a five-game home losing streak, their longest losing skid of the season.

Recently, Sacramento lost 114-113 at home to the Pistons on Thursday night as a result of Fox fouling Jaden Ivey on a three-point attempt with three seconds remaining. Not only did Ivey knock down his three-point shot to tie the game, but he subsequently made his free throw to stun the Kings.

While there was no publicly known rift between Brown and Fox, the star guard's agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, met with the Kings' brass recently to discuss his client's future and the internal problems that existed in Sacramento. It is very possible Brown and Fox didn't see eye-to-eye on how things were going this season, factoring into this decision to fire the head coach.

Brown finishes his time in Sacramento with a 107-88 record during the regular season.