Coach Mike Brown’s style and methods have meshed well with the veteran Knicks.
SAN ANTONIO – Mike Brown had one job. And it was a doozy.
Normally, that observation is a way to point out failure by suggesting that the task at hand was something simple. But in Brown’s case, though, it was a mighty ask.
Nothing less than: NBA Finals or bust.
The instant New York hired the veteran, much-traveled Brown in July to replace coach Tom Thibodeau, the implication was clear. Brown needed to do better than his predecessor, which is a common enough expectation in any field but especially so in professional sports. The problem was that Thibodeau had steered the Knicks to the brink of the NBA Finals last spring.
The only way Brown could improve upon that was … see? Finals or bust.
So here we are, 11 months after the 56-year-old Brown, four times fired, got hired for the fifth time. The Knicks will face the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 on Wednesday night at Frost Bank Center (8:30 ET, ABC), four victories away from New York’s first NBA championship in 53 years. Thibodeau’s success – the best five-year stretch for the franchise in more than 25 years – was improved upon in the only way possible, and the Knicks aren’t done yet.
“He had big shoes to fill,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said, “because Thibs did an amazing job.”
Bottom line, Brown threaded the needle. And just when the pressure should have been at its greatest, the scrutiny dialed high and the speculation most reckless, checking that Finals box wasn’t even close.
The Knicks won 11 consecutive games to get here, one of the most impressive postseason runs in history. Since regrouping after going down 2-1 to Atlanta in the first round, they have blown out the Hawks, the Sixers and the Cavaliers, punctuating each series clincher by 51, 30 and 37 points, respectively.
With Jalen Brunson as the little engine that does, Karl-Anthony Towns adding offense-creation to his portfolio, Josh Hart putting up historic numbers as a playoff pocket rebounder, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Hart clamping down defensively, and vibrant play off the bench from Landry Shamet, Miles McBride and others, the Knicks cut a swath through the East that erased all doubts.
And should have for Brown, too, except that this being New York, he’ll settle for still being employed by the team when training camp opens.
Brown coaches ‘his way, his style’
The Association dissects the differences between this season's Finals-bound squad and past ones that fell short.
“When I took the job, I thought about [the championship possibilities of this group],” Brown recently said. “But going through this process, one of the things that I’m trying really hard to do — and trying really hard to make sure our team does from the top down — is to stay present.”
It’s more than embracing the Hallmark card wisdom that any journey begins with the first step. It’s almost ignoring the destination altogether and locking in on the steps. One foot in front of the other, stacking games, quarters and possessions.
Brown knew he hadn’t been owner Jim Dolan’s or president of basketball operations Leon Rose’s first choice – the Knicks had sought and been denied permission to interview five other teams’ coaches before turning to the Cavs-Lakers-Cavs again-Kings ex-coach. So he wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
Mustering all the know-how gleaned from those previous jobs, as well as his long-ago and recent stints as an assistant on the Washington Wizards’, San Antonio Spurs’, Indiana Pacers’ and Golden State Warriors’ benches, Brown drilled down on the details. He adapted to the talent on hand, the flaws that he found and the need to evolve as the season and postseason played out.
He got Brunson, his point guard, off the ball more. He got Towns involved as an initiator the way he often had been used in his Minnesota days. And Brown was shrewd enough – knowing words like “collaboration” and “shareholders” were flying around at the time of his hiring – and easy-going enough to open his method to others’ input. Not just from the front office or corporate suite but from the locker room as well.
Thibodeau, for all his success, embraced the old school of people staying in their roles, their lanes, if you will, while he shouldered the accountability for the results. Brown shoulders that too, but he is far more open about the process, hearing ideas and re-considering before making his decisions. Hart’s suggestion in the Atlanta series, for instance, that he could and would guard CJ McCollum – and Brown okaying the switch – is a good example.
“He was put in a tough situation with a lot of expectations,” said Hart, a nine-year, four-team swingman. “But he’s handled that unbelievably. He’s coaching us in his way, his style. He’s taking input from everybody. His ability to lead us to adapt to things has been great. That’s just the kind of person he is.”
Towns considers the connection now between team and coach to be “seamless,” which shows what a remarkable balm winning is. “He is getting the best from us, and we are getting the best from him,” the All-Star big man said.
A long-sought Finals return for Brown
Everything Brown has done in his career to this point seems to be paying dividends now.
Working with stars, from back when he and LeBron James were relative babies in Cleveland 20 years ago. Handling the bright glare in a big market when he led the Lakers. Picking up pieces for a turnaround in Sacramento in 2022-23, then handling the humiliation of being fired by the Kings 18 months after becoming the first unanimous Coach of the Year award winner.
All those years learning at the elbows of mentor Bernie Bickerstaff, Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle and Steve Kerr. After his first firing in Cleveland, Brown would hang out with his son Elijah’s high school coach, Eric Flannery, just for the basketball chatter.
Said Brown: “You lean on your experiences, and you just try to be better going forward. But I don’t really think much about it.”
After being bounced by the Kings, Brown wondered if he would get another chance, but he didn’t dwell on it. He and his wife Ro traveled extensively: Australia, Puerto Vallarta and St. Barts in the Caribbean.
“Didn’t think too much about it,” Brown said. “Obviously, this [Knicks] opportunity came up and from afar, I just felt that this team was ready.”
At tipoff Wednesday, Brown will become the coach with the longest gap (2007 to 2026) between his first and second Finals appearances. And all it took was surviving the pressure of New York, navigating 82 games, finding a little more in the margins of so many Knicks players and grinding through three preliminary playoff rounds to make it happen.
That’s all.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
