Steve Kerr's coaching influence on display in Eastern Conference finals

At least one member of the Warriors' lauded coaching staff from the 2022 title team will return to the NBA Finals this season.

Mike Brown's Knicks and Kenny Atkinson’s Cavaliers are set to play in the Eastern Conference finals, which will begin Tuesday. Back in 2022, Brown and Atkinson were lead assistants to Steve Kerr, who had a profound impact on both men’s careers.

Each came to the Warriors following a head coaching stint that ended in them being fired.

Atkinson had been let go by the Nets during the COVID-19 pandemic and, after one season as an assistant on the Clippers’ bench, spent three years with Golden State.

Mike Brown was canned in 2014 after one season in Cleveland and was an assistant under Kerr for six seasons and three championships.

"I'll tell you what, just being around Steve was very beneficial for me and my career. I've said this many times before, Steve and (former Spurs coach Gregg) Popovich are probably two of the best messengers I've been around," Brown said earlier this year. "They have a really good feel and pulse of the group."

It came as little surprise when Brown got another head coaching opportunity in Sacramento, led the dysfunctional Kings to their first playoff berth in 16 years while winning coach of the year in 2022-23. He has immediately found success in New York this season after replacing Tom Thibodeau.

"He does the work," Moses Moody said of Brown. "He does all the work. I used to come back to shoot at 10 o'clock at night, and Mike Brown would be up there in his office. He's real detail-oriented, he's smart, and he pays attention a lot."

Atkinson has had a similar level of success in two seasons with the Cavaliers, leading Cleveland to a 64-18 record in 2024-25 and winning coach of the year, and then adapting his attack to incorporate James Harden after a midseason trade, propelling the Cavs to their first conference finals since LeBron James departed in 2018.

The 58-year-old coach has implemented some of the leadership methods Kerr has exhibited during 12 seasons in charge of the Warriors.

"It was like finishing school for me," Atkinson said. "Steve understands leadership as well as anybody, any coach I've been around."

Kerr, who has also lavished praise upon Brown, 56, whenever asked about him, made sure to give Atkinson his due before a December game in Cleveland.

"I learned a lot from him, and you know, he looked at the game a little differently than I did," Kerr said. "He had a much more analytical mind than I did, and it was one of the reasons I brought him in."

There are elements of Kerr's unique offense within both teams' scheme. The Knicks often use Karl-Anthony Towns as a facilitator out of the post a la Draymond Green, while the Cavaliers often have Donovan Mitchell play large swaths of the game off-ball, a move Golden State has used with Steph Curry.

Of course, each also has a roster that Kerr would love, replete with size and athleticism that the Warriors are searching for this season.

A bouncy wing like New York's OG Anunoby or a versatile rim-protector such as Cleveland's Evan Mobley are nowhere to be found in the Bay Area.

Finding those pieces is a priority for the Warriors this offseason.

“Well, we’ve been really studying all those trends for years now,” Kerr said last week. “It’s what we do every summer. We have every one of our assistant coaches is doing deep dives on what’s happening around the league. The analytics department is making suggestions, and you’re seeing it around the league. You see the changes in the way people play.”

For those more interested in the Western Conference's heavyweight slugfest between the defending champion Thunder and upstart Spurs, only one team has former Warriors involved.

Harrison Barnes and Lindy Waters III are both reserves for San Antonio, although Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, returning from a hamstring injury to play in Game 1, is a Santa Clara alum.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 2:43 PM.