Mike Brown is Blazing Own Trail as Knicks Head Coach

At the time of his firing, Tom Thibodeau was the NBA’s third-longest tenured head coach, having spent five seasons with the New York Knicks, trailing only Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr, who both own NBA championships. It's a cold business and coaching shelf lives are short. It’s something Mike Brown found out the hard way himself with his dismissal from Sacramento almost a year ago to the day.

During his time with the Kings, Brown oversaw back-to-back 46+ win squads and helped the franchise end their 16-year playoff drought during his first season in charge. Yet he was kicked out the door rather unceremoniously. Less than an hour before being canned, Brown wrapped up a full practice, talked with media and was driving to the team plane for a road trip.

It felt like Leon Rose, the New York Knicks’ president of basketball operations, was all out of options when he hired Brown this summer following a month’s long process. Before landing on the two-time NBA coach of the Year, Rose got as many rejections as the drunk guy at the bar when asking seemingly every other team to interview their coach. There were flirtations with Jason Kidd, Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, Quinn Snyder, Billy Donovan, Quin Snyder and even Jay Wright.

Brown Wasn't The Knicks First Choice, But He's Been A Great Choice

The 55-year-old Brown wasn’t a sexy hire. He’s a retread after all, with stops in Cleveland (twice), Los Angeles and Sacramento. But he came with a winning pedigree, having cobbled together a .599 career winning percentage and collecting three championship rings while sitting beside Gregg Popoovich and Steve Kerr as an assistant.

Being a head coach of a professional sports team is no easy task in today's landscape, especially when tasked with taking over a championship or bust operation. By holding himself and his players accountable, Brown has been up for the challenge and brought a much needed "change of culture." He is an affable guy with his players and the media, a stark contrast from the previous regime.

Dec 16, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; New York Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown at press conference prior to the Emirates NBA Cup Final against the San Antonio Spurs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With Brown at the helm, the Knicks new offense is averaging 292 passes per game, many more than they had in any season under Thibs. Mikal Bridges is a different player in Brown’s system of rapid ball and body movement. The offense is moving so freely, there is constant motion and shooters are letting it fly. The newfound look has resuscitating the starting 5 unit which progressively cratered a season ago.

Last year's team was desperately toying with lineups in the Eastern Conference finals. This mad scientist coach is using the regular season to experiment with a wide variety of rotations and playing styles. We have seen Brown try fast, slow, big and small. From 3 guard units to double-big combinations, to closing games with sophomore Tyler Kolek.

While the big guns are staying fresher with less minutes -Bridges for example, is on pace for 143 less, equating to almost three full games less of wear and tear- playing time has increased for the young guys. Brown has empowered and entrusted Kolek, Ariel Hukporti and Kevin McCullar, all of whom didn’t see the court as rookies for the more rigid Thibodeau. Second-round pick Mohamad Diawara has earned enough trust to start a few games. Even big man Trey Jemison, on a two-way contract, has had his moments.

Brown Has Maximized The Entire Roster

Praising Brown is no knock on Thibodeau, who dragged this franchise out from two decades of ruins. He instilled a long needed culture and a lot of redeeming qualities this group still leans on. Brown has ran with those qualities and been everything that you'd want a head coach to be.

Most importantly, the Knicks are winning games. They are 23-9, the third highest win total in franchise history over the first 32 games (1969-70, 1972-73). The Knicks are fourth in points per game (120.8) and three-point percentage (38.4%), They sit second in the Eastern Conference standings, just a game and a half behind Detroit.

It’s still just the honeymoon period of the Brown era. It’s hard to fall in love too quickly. But his track record speaks for itself and so has these first 32 games.

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