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GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Mike Brown was hired for this moment.
The New York Knicks already had a coach who could take them to the Eastern Conference finals — and they fired him immediately after.
Whoever replaced Tom Thibodeau would do so knowing he was inheriting a seat that was already warm, taking an undeniable win-now job where the only way he could demonstrate he made the team better was by reaching the NBA Finals. The pressure grew even more during the season, when the owner said he believed the Knicks should play for the title.
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The expectations were clear, though Brown never needed to have them explained.
“People have talked about a mandate,” Brown said recently. “Like, I’m coaching to win, so it doesn’t matter what others say. I’m disappointed if we’re not in the finals and having a chance to win it.”
He has led the Knicks back to the conference finals, where they will play either Detroit or Cleveland. They were two losses from going home in the first round in what could have been a flop worthy of a firing. Instead, he changed some things, stuck with others, and the Knicks have reeled off seven straight wins, mostly in convincing fashion.
“He’s done a great job of adjusting our team to give us the best chance to win,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said, “and the spot we’re in now is because of his courage and the trust to change what we were doing and put us in a better position.”
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Brown’s resume was certainly worthy of the job. He’s a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the latter as the first unanimous winner in 2023 after leading the Sacramento Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2006, ending what was the longest active drought in North American pro sports.
But there was going to be skepticism with any hire, in part because many people weren’t sure Thibodeau should’ve even been fired. The Knicks won just one playoff series between 2001 and his hiring in 2020, and he brought them to the postseason four times in five years, culminating last season with their first conference finals appearance in 25 years.
Yet the Knicks wanted a coach with a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mike-brown-hired-coach-knicks-191137479.html
Author : BRIAN MAHONEY
Publish date : 2026-05-15 19:11:00
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