Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will miss Tuesday's game against the Denver Nuggets, the team announced. Brown is dealing with mild symptoms and hopes to return to the team shortly, according to Andscaped's Marc Spears.
The team will be coached on Tuesday by associate head coach Jordi Fernandez, who was formerly an assistant with the Nuggets from 2016-2022. Now, in his first season away from the Nuggets, he will make his head-coaching debut against his former team.
Brown has helped engineer one of the most impressive turnarounds in the NBA. The Kings have missed the playoffs every year since 2006, but under Brown's leadership, they are right in the thick of the playoff race. At 17-14, they currently sit in sixth place in the Western Conference and trail the first-place Nuggets by only three and a half games.
Brown's absence isn't the only obstacle for the Kings tonight. Star center Domantas Sabonis is attempting to play through a fractured ligament in his right hand. Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox have led the way for the Kings in their best season in nearly two decades, so having both of them at full strength would have made enduring Brown's absence easier.
The NBA has had a much easier time dealing with COVID this season than it has in years past, but the disease has not been eradicated completely. Unfortunately Brown will miss time, but, hopefully, he can be back on the bench quickly.
