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The New York Knicks are hiring and finalizing a contract for former Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown to take over the reins on the sidelines in Madison Square Garden after firing Tom Thibodeau in June, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
Brown, 55, has spent 11 seasons as a head coach in the NBA. As a rising assistant coach with a few different teams to begin his career, Brown earned his first head-coaching job with the Cavs in 2005.
In his first stint with Cleveland, Brown went 272-138 coaching LeBron James and the Cavaliers. The team finished with at least 50 wins in four of his five seasons and reached the 2007 NBA Finals. Brown then became the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011 before returning to Cleveland for the 2013-14 season.
After being the Cavaliers' head coach two different times and spending two seasons with the Los Angeles, Brown took some time off from leading on the sidelines and instead joined the Golden State Warriors on Steve Kerr's staff. With the Warriors, Brown was very successful as one of Kerr's lead assistants and taking responsibility for the team's defensive game plan.
Brown ultimately helped lead the Dubs to three championships in 2017, 2018, and 2022. He was then hired as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, where he ended the organization's 17-year playoff drought in 2023. The Kings fired Brown 31 games into the 2024-25 season with the team struggling and owning a losing record.
He was named the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year in his first season with Sacramento.
The Knicks now have their fourth coach since the 2019-20 season, as a decision to fire Thibodeau was made after New York came up short against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Thibodeau went 226-174 during the regular season with the Knicks and took them to the playoffs in four of his five seasons on the sidelines in Madison Square Garden.
This season's conference finals appearance marked the first time the Knicks had made it that far in the postseason since the 1999-00 season.
After an extensive coaching search that spanned multiple weeks, the Knicks landed on Brown to become their next coach as a result of his character, player-first approach, and championship experience.
New York had also interviewed former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, current Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, and current New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego. Recent reports also suggest that the Knicks spoke with South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley.
Throughout their coaching search, the Knicks were denied permission to speak with some of the premier head coaches around the league. Ime Udoka, Chris Finch, Billy Donovan, and Jason Kidd were among the big-name head coaches around the league whom New York was not given permission to interview for their head coaching vacancy.
Kidd remained a potential long-shot candidate for the Knicks throughout this process despite the Dallas Mavericks denying New York's interview request multiple times.
Brown takes over a Knicks team that went 51-31 this past year, their best record since winning 53 games during the 2012-13 season. With Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns leading the way, the Knicks are primed to be a championship-contending organization once more during the 2025-26 season.
As a result of teams like the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Indiana Pacers taking a step back this offseason due to their stars suffering major injuries, the Knicks see a prime opportunity to maximize their championship window. That is why Brown, a coach with experience in the NBA Finals as both a head coach and an assistant, made sense for New York.
The Knicks' extensive coaching search extended past the 2025 NBA Draft and into the start of free agency. While they are limited in terms of moves they can make, Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson will join the Knicks and add depth for the 2025-26 season.
