Kings hold players only meeting, look to hold each other accountable

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Players only meetings are nothing new in Sacramento. They’ve happened plenty of times over the fourteen seasons I’ve covered the Kings and the results vary. There is no exact science to one of these meetings, especially for teams that are usually on the outside looking in on the postseason picture.

This one feels different. When the Kings players asked for the room late last week, pushing coaches and staff out the door, it was the first time we’ve seen this scene from a winning team. 

It’s easy to point fingers and air grievances when there is no escaping the inevitable outcome of a losing season. But for a team in the hunt for the playoffs that is still clearly missing something, this type of meeting has potential. 

“Championship level teams, it comes from within,” Mike Brown said Sunday following practice. “As a coach, you can take it so far, and you keep pushing them, but it’s kinda like your parents -- ‘hey, shut the hell up!’”

Brown has been a part of some incredible teams in the past. He won his first ring as an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs staff back in 2003. He took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2005-06 and then won three championships on Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors staff. According to Brown, all of those teams had a moment when the players accepted a new level of ownership of the team.

“The players took over the team and the real stuff started to evolve and happen the right way when they truly believed it and embraced it at the highest level,” Brown said. “I welcomed that meeting. Is it the turning point of the season? I don’t know, but I know this has to be their team at the end of the day for us to really obtain true heights.”