The San Antonio Spurs will be facing the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup final, and there will be some familiar faces going against each other. The main one is De'Aaron Fox and head coach Mike Brown, who were both a part of the Sacramento Kings last season before they were both let go.

Before they match up against each other for the first time, Brown had the ultimate praise for his former point guard, and also had quite the joke for him.

“He’s a fabulous young man with a beautiful family… I always told him he could be one of the best two-way players. Hopefully, he isn’t tomorrow,” Brown said via Brett Siegel of Clutch Points.

Brown was the coach for the Kings from 2022-2024, and he helped them see the success they hadn't had since 2006, as they were able to make the playoffs in 2023. Unfortunately, the Kings were not able to live up to that success the following two seasons, and last season, the Kings made the decision to fire Brown after a slow start.

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Later on, the Kings traded Fox to the Spurs, after there was uncertainty that he would re-sign with the team with the last year of his contract coming up.

There was always a thought that if Brown was fired, Fox was going to request a trade from the team. Fox claims that he didn't request a trade and that the Kings just outright traded him. Fast forward to now, and it looks like Brown and Fox are in two better situations than what the Kings have going on right now.

Brown is now the coach of the Knicks and has them in second place in the Eastern Conference, while Fox is on a young Spurs team that is 18-7 and is in fifth place in the Western Conference.