Head coach Mike Brown is entering his third season as the leading man of the Sacramento Kings, but he has been around the block a lot longer than that.
Before his time with the Kings, Browns served as the head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards, and Indiana Pacers.
Overall, Brown has been coaching in the NBA since 1997. He's seen and been around a handful of great players. So, when he compares a player to an all-time great player, it means something.
That brings us to the premise of this post. At media day, Brown compared Malik Monk, the team's current sixth man (and the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year last season), to an all-time great sixth man he had the pleasure of coaching in San Antonio.
Mike Brown compared Malik Monk to Manu Ginobili as a 6th man.
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) September 30, 2024
Mike talked about Manu clearly being one of the best players on the Spurs, but Pop brought him off the bench because it was what gave the Spurs the best chance to win.
Mike didn't say that he wouldn't start Monk.
Is Brown right?
Brown's words definitely hold some weight, but is his statement correct?
From a pure impact perspective, the answer is easily "no." Manu Ginobili is probably the greatest sixth man in NBA history. At his apex, he was one of the best per-minute players in the league.
For instance, in 2007-08, Ginobili finished third in the entire NBA behind only LeBron James and Chris Paul (two players who earned first place MVP votes) in Box Plus-Minus (BPM). Meanwhile, Monk finished a good, but not great, 83rd in BPM in 2023-24. Monk is a good player, but he isn't the per-minute superstar that Ginobili was.
Where Brown's claim does hold some weight is when you compare their playstyles and roles on their perspective teams. Like Ginobili, Monk plays with a flavor of calculated recklessness. To the naked eye, they look out of control, but in reality, they are playing at a speed that very few players can handle – a speed that they are perfectly in control while operating in.
On top of that, as the tweet above says, Monk, like Ginobili, is one of his team's best players. However, having him come off the bench and allowing Keon Ellis to start gives the Kings their best chance at winning.
Brown was an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich's staff the year Ginobili and the Spurs won the title in 2002-03. Hopefully, Brown will get to share a similar experience with Monk in Sacramento.