It's not often that a team fires its head coach after a season that ended in the Eastern Conference Finals, a place they hadn't been in 25 years, but that's what the New York Knicks did. After a somewhat bizarre coaching search, the organization named Mike Brown its next head coach, and he's well aware of the situation he has walked into.
At Media Day on Tuesday, Brown discussed what it's like to join an organization with high expectations. His answer was everything fans hoped to hear. Brown said nobody has higher expectations than he does, and that he loves being in the kind of position he's in now.
Brown on coming into high expectations: "First thing, I don't know if anyone has higher expectations than me. I love being in a position where you feel expectations."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) September 23, 2025
When the Knicks introduced Brown as the head coach in early July, he said the same thing (subscription required). He said then that he's looking forward to the expectations that come along with his new role.
There is pressure that comes along with coaching the Knicks, regardless of how good or bad the team is supposed to be. It's New York. That pressure ramps up significantly when you're named the head coach of a Knicks team that has championship expectations. New York is the closest it's been in decades to winning a title.
Brown embraces the expectations that come with coaching the Knicks
New York's chances of winning it all are higher than they were last year. Boston and Indiana will be without their two best players, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, for the majority of the season, if not all of it, as they recover from Achilles tears. The Knicks and Cavaliers are expected to be the top two teams in the conference.
Now, that doesn't mean that it's a given that New York will return to the ECF, potentially taking the next step and making its first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. There's no doubt that the Knicks have the talent, but it's impossible to predict what a long 82-game season and the playoffs will bring.
New York expects the Knicks to be the last team standing in the East, and, hopefully, the last team standing in the league come June.
Brown understands that.
Does that mean his job will be in jeopardy if the Knicks don't make it to the ECF? Or the NBA Finals? Or win a championship? It shouldn't be. It's year one, but it's not a typical year one. New York is in the midst of its championship window.
You can bet that Brown's expectations include leading the Knicks to a place they haven't been in 50+ years.