When the New York Knicks opted to replace Tom Thibodeau with Mike Brown this past summer after having just reached their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, the hope was that said shake-up would lead to key improvements for the team.
Fast forward nine months into his Big Apple tenure, and it's apparent that Brown's impact on the club is still being hotly debated.
To some, it has provided the Knicks with the exact higher-highs, lower-lows trade-off the franchise wanted with their new headman. Others, meanwhile, still argue that parting ways with Thibodeau ahead of a championship-round-or-bust campaign was a major mistake.
However, regardless of how one feels about the coaching change, it mustn't blind them from the fact that, in many ways, New York has objectively improved from last season, most notably when playing winning teams, where they've upped their record from a putrid 12-22 against above .500 opponents to 27-22 here in 2025-26.
Carrying such a track record and impressive success rate into the postseason, where every one of the teams New York is set to face will have a winning record, is certainly one of the biggest pros for having switched to Brown as their head coach.
Mike Brown on the verge of making Knicks history
No matter where one stands on the coaching change, it's undeniable that Brown has had quite a successful go-around here in his debut campaign with the Knicks.
In fact, he's been so successful right out of the gates that he now finds himself on the verge of making franchise history as a result.
With a record of 51-28, Brown has officially matched Hall of Famer Pat Riley for the most wins in a Knicks head coach's first season with the club.
One more win would have him claim the record all for himself, and with three games remaining on the regular season docket, the odds of such an achievement coming to fruition are rather high.
Now, of course, considering the level of competition that awaits them, pulling out win number 52 will be far from a cakewalk. With the Celtics, Raptors, and Hornets all waiting on the horizon, the Knicks have one of the hardest remaining schedules in the association.
Fortunately, as established earlier, New York has proven quite successful against winning teams this year. On top of this, two of these three matchups are slated to take place at Madison Square Garden, where they've gone a whopping 28-9 (fourth-best home record this season).
With this in mind, fans should expect Brown to take the record at some point between now and the Knicks' April 12 finale.