The Mike Brown Era Has Begun

The Knicks were one of the final 3 teams playing basketball last year — and maybe if Indiana doesn’t go NUTS and hit every 3 they took in the final 4 minutes of game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals — the Knicks would have been in the Finals against Oklahoma.

But Indiana beat them and coach Tom Thibodeau was unbelievably fired as soon as the season ended and the Mike Brown era has begun.

Thibs’ Will Be Hard Shoes to Fill

Under Thibs, the Knicks had a team built on Defense for the first time in 20 years — although many fans — unbelievably — criticized Thibs for a drop in Knick defense last season. That drop was due to the acquisition of Karl Anthony Towns just before the season began, in a trade for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, and then also the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein to free agency (he went to Oklahoma) and not having Mitchell Robinson for the first 5 months of the season.

When Robinson returned in March, the Knicks defense improved greatly.

And Thibs’ Knicks took down Detroit — the hottest team in the NBA the last 2/3 of the season, and defending champ Boston before losing to red hot Indiana.

Under Thibs the Knicks were:

• 51-31 last year, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to Indiana after beating Detroit and Boston.
• 50-32, losing in the Eastern Conference Semis to Indiana after NY had a massive slew of injuries staring in February. NY beat Philly in the 1st round.
• 47-35 in 2022-33, losing in the Eastern Conference Semis in a dogfight series against red-hot Miami. NY beat
• 37-45 in 2021-22, pre Jalen Brunson and during a bad year by Julius Randle.
• 41-31 in 2020-21, losing in the first round to Atlanta, as Randle was double teamed.

In 2019-21 — pre Thibs — NY was 21-45. That is some turnaround that Thibs built.

Brown’s Resume

And those are some shoes that Mike Brown has to now replace — and take the Knicks on their next step — into the Finals and to a championship.

Many NBA experts are saying the Knicks are favorites to make the Finals this year — with the Achilles injuries to Jayson Tatum in Boston and Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana that will keep them out this season.

On paper, Mike Brown has an excellent resume. He has won NBA Coach of the Year twice.

But he has never done well in the playoffs, and he has coached teams that were loaded with talent.

• Cleveland with a Young LeBron: Brown was the coach of LeBron James in Cleveland when LeBron first came into the league. Those teams notoriously lost in the playoffs — causing LeBron to go to Miami as a free agent where he started winning titles. Brown won Coach of the Year award in 2008-09 with LeBron. Brown was fired after Cleveland lost to Boston in the 2009-10 Eastern Conference Finals.
• Lakers with Kobe Still Near Prime: Brown then coached the Lakers in 2011-2012 — a year removed from their 2010 championship — with Kobe Bryant still near his prime, averaging 27 ppg and Pau Gasol as the sidekick star. Those Lakers went 41-25 under Brown in 2011-2012, then beat Denver in the 1st round before losing to Oklahoma in the 2nd round, 4 games to 1. Brown was fired 5 games into the 2012-13 season with the Lakers at 1-4.
• Cleveland Again: Brown then became coach of Cleveland again — going 33-49 in 2013-14. He was fired after the season.
• Assistant Coach in Golden State: Brown then spent 5 years as an assistant coach with Golden State under Steve Kerr, as Steph Curry and team won several titles.
• Sacramento: Brown then had his greatest success as a coach with the Sacramento Kings — winning 48 in 2022-23 (losing in the 1st round to Golden State in 7 games) and winning his second Coach of the Year award, and 46 games in 2023-24 (not making the playoffs). He was fired at the start of 2024-25 after going 13-18.

So despite the won-loss records and 2-time Coach of the Year honors — that is a spotty history of a coach that does not go far in the playoffs.

Brown has the reputation of “demanding a culture of hard work and strong player connections. He is recognized for implementing dynamic, high-powered offenses and aggressive defenses.”

That is from AI. Yet Brown’s teams is not known for teams that play great defense. The Sacramento Kings had a reputation for an elite offense but defensive struggles under his coaching.

Knicks Personal Changing Under Brown

The Knicks personnel is changing under Brown. Jordan Clarkson and Malcolm Brogdan have been brought in as the top guards off the bench. Young intensive-defensive guard (and 3-pt shooting maestro) Miles McBride on the trade-rumor block. Josh Hart‘s playing time seems that it will be cut into. And Jalen Brunson is being asked to distribute more on offense.

Some players may thrive under Brown. One might expect Mitchell Robinson to be freed from the constraints of never being allowed to look for his own shot.

So we’ll see.

But I don’t expect the Knicks to go to the Finals this year unless the NBA and its Refs give them a stiff wind at their back. Which is not beyond the realm of possibility, with NBA’s track record.