No pain, no gain? Players on the New York Knicks unknowingly subscribed to a dose of hurtful motivation when gathering for film ahead of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals. Ahead of their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks' coaching staff showed players a video compilation of their reactions from the end of the previous season.
A long-time rival of New York's, the Indiana Pacers, ripped the Knicks' hearts out in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. Ahead of the same round of the playoffs the next season, Mike Brown had his staff put together clips of their players congratulating their opponents for ending the Knicks' own season.
Brown told Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on their podcast that Dillon Jones deserved credit for the idea, with the two-way wing suggesting still images (and Brown's staff going as far as to make it happen with video clips). After helping the Knicks' Summer League squad beat the Detroit Pistons in Las Vegas, Jones told reporters about the collaboration with Brown — and gave the coach all the credit. Is anyone surprised?
Jones' "evil" ECF idea was cherry on top of Brown's collaborative season
As soon as the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau, it was made clear from all angles that the team's front office was looking to replace him with a head coach they could work with more productively. While Thibodeau and Leon Rose's group of executives saw eye-to-eye on plenty of issues, they disagreed — as humans do — on how to achieve their shared goals.
New York ultimately decided that the highway was the better choice than Thibodeau's way, getting off at Brown's exit to conclude their search. The rewards weren't necessarily instant, but they were massive. And, relatively speaking, one season is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Brown came in and instilled a collaborative streak to the Knicks' already-winning culture that Rose, Thibodeau, and the team's players had spent the past several years establishing. Jones' involvement in their Championship-winning formula is a big spoonful of proof-flavored pudding that the organization's desire for increased collaboration actually translated to success.
The wing, signed to a two-way contract last season, told media members as much after the team's first Summer League victory.
"Obviously, he talks to everybody, but that was just my thing. I just think it speaks to him more than me, just about his humility to hear everybody out in the building," Jones told reporters at the Thomas & Mack Center.
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