Mike Brown Opens up on Landing Knicks Job, Winning First Title Since 1973

The New York Knicks made the polarizing decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau after making the Eastern Conference Finals following the 2025-26 season.

After meeting with 10 potential coaching candidates and four formal interviews, the team eventually landed on Mike Brown, perhaps not the most popular selection amongst fans. Just one season later, the team is celebrating its first NBA title since 1973, leading Brown to reflect on landing the job.

“I’ve been around a long time. This business is just as crazy as any other business,” Brown said. “I’m pretty good at trying to control what I can control. I had zero control over who else was interviewing, who was denied permission. I had zero control over that.”

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He opened up on his thoughts after initially meeting with the Knicks brass.

“I felt that I had great chemistry with [Knicks president] Leon Rose and [senior vice president] Quentin Dolan and [team owner] Mr. [James] Dolan, when I met with him,” Brown continued.

Even then, though he was never certain he’d be getting the job.

“But you never know. You try not to guess, because if you guess, it could drive you crazy because you don’t really have the answer. I was pretty nonchalant about it as time went on. I just let it unfold the way it unfolded,” he concluded.

In the end, Brown led the team to its first title in more than five decades.

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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 1:07 PM.