Brown, the Kings’ third-year coach, was fired Friday amid the team’s 13-18 start and current five-game losing streak. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in Sacramento in 2022-23, when the Kings went 48-34 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. They went 46-36 last season and failed to advance out of the play-in tournament.

Rick Carlisle publicly lauded Mike Brown for the job he did on the way to winning the NBA's coach of the year award.

Carlisle, who's also the president of the NBA Coaches Association, touted Brown's impact on the Kings' turnaround and the culture he built, which led to the popular "Light the Beam" battle cry. "Teams have the right to do things like this, obviously, but Mike's a great man and a great basketball mind," added the Pacers tactician.