Mike Brown Bluntly Addresses New Legacy for Knicks

Mike Brown is seeking something new rather than continuing the old that the New York Knicks have established.

Dec 11, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown looks on during the second quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

The next incarnation of the New York Knicks is going to play like Mike ... wants them to.

As the Knicks continued preparations for their Abu Dhabi doubleheader against the Philadelphia 76ers, head coach Mike Brown addressed how he'll respect the foundation that his predecessor Tom Thibodeau built while leaving his own stamp on the franchise.

It proved to be perhaps the most prominent expression of tough love that the Knicks have shown toward the Thibodeau era, one that put the franchise back on the map despite falling short of its ultimate championship goal.

Sep 23, 2025; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown speaks to the media during a media day press conference at the Madison Square Garden training center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

“It’s not necessarily my job to respect anybody’s legacy,” Brown said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “I was hired to coach this team and that’s what I’m going to do and I’m going to coach the team In the best way I know how to do it going forward.”

The Thibodeau era has frequently been spoken about in respectful tones and it's hard not to keep that pace considering the brutal depths the team sank to prior to his arrival in 2022.

But Brown's comments, surely indirectly and keeping that brand of politeness, are perhaps the first acknowledgement that some sort of change was necessary after the team fell short in the final four against the Indiana Pacers despite carrying a perceived edge in talent on paper.

The winds of change may already be blowing in Manhattan, or at least at the Knicks' training facility in Tarrytown: while keeping some cards close to the chest, Brown has expressed a desire to see the Knicks play with a wider rotation, even if it comes with some of the starters sidelined from the massive workloads they faced during the Thibodeau era.

Few, if any, of the Association's coaches, both old and new, face larger challenges than Brown, who will likely have to provide the Knicks their first NBA Finals showing since 1999 for his maiden metropolitan voyage to be considered a success. The first glimpse of what Brown's trying to build will be on display in the Middle East, where the Knicks will get a couple against a dire division rival.

“Hopefully, we play fast offensively, we have the right spacing offensively, we touch the paint a lot of times and try to get extra possessions on the offensive glass,” Brown said of what he's expecting from the opening couple, per Popper.. “Defensively, we want to be physical without fouling, we want to pressure the ball. We want to make sure we’re in the right position to help. All the little things that we emphasize with what we call our staples."

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