Last offseason, the New York Knicks went through quite a process to select their next head coach. They had just fired Tom Thibodeau after reaching the conference finals for the first time in 25 years in 2025, a shakeup that brought mixed reactions (at best).
The process of hiring the next head coach wasn’t exactly a clean one, at least in the eyes of those outside the organization. New York asked for permission to speak with several head coaches from other teams and was rejected each time.
Eventually, Mike Brown got the gig. The optics surrounding his hiring weren’t great, because it seemed as if the coach wasn’t close to being the front office's first choice. However, any concerns about Mike Brown are no longer necessary after the Knicks' 2026 championship win.
A championship removes all doubts
Much of Brown’s coaching strategy was dissected and sometimes questioned during the regular season. When the end result is becoming just the second head coach in franchise history to win a title though, you become a New York icon.
On Tuesday, James Edwards III revealed the results of the Knicks fan survey questions that were presented last week. One of the questions asked: “A year later, have your thoughts on Mike Brown changed?”
The results were as follows:
Yes, I was unsure he was the right coach, and now I’m sure — 61.2%
I liked the hire then and still like it now — 33.1%
I’m still indifferent about him, and No, the roster carried him to a title — 5.7% combined
So, more than three-fifths of the fans who voted have changed their opinion of Brown after one year.
It’s quite understandable why fans weren’t sure what to think of the hire. He had been fired as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings in his coaching career.
He also helped guide Sacramento to its first playoff appearance in 17 years in 2023, and the Kings certainly haven’t made the playoffs since he was let go. Survey their fans — the vast majority would likely say firing Brown was a big mistake.
Plus, the Knicks tried to interview Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, Billy Donovan, Chris Finch, and Quinn Snyder, all five of whom already had head-coaching jobs at the time. They went 0-for-5 in being granted permission to speak to them.
When the Knicks made a coaching change the national media said the next guy had to win 11 playoff games, at minimum, to justify it
— Kris Pursiainen (@krispursiainen) May 24, 2026
Anyway, Mike Brown is 11-2 in the 2026 NBA Playoffs
To the outside world, it looked as if New York didn’t have a plan after firing Thibodeau and “settled” for Brown. Winning a championship after a 53-year wait makes Brown a legend forever, just as Red Holzman still is for winning two titles in the 1970s.
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