The Knicks have officially announced Mike Brown as their new head coach.
Brown garnered support during his first interview with the club, and he was back just a few days later for a second sit-down, which included owner James Dolan.
The 55-year-old will now take over for Tom Thibodeau, who was fired after coaching the Knicks to back-to-back 50-win seasons and leading them to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years this past season.
"I would like to welcome Mike Brown to New York and the Knicks organization," Dolan said in a statement. "Leon [Rose] and our staff ran a thorough and thoughtful process that led our organization to Mike, and I am please to see him on the sideline for us next season."
Brown began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards for three seasons (1997-1999) before joining Gregg Popovich's staff in San Antonio (2000-2003), followed by another assistant job with Indiana (2003-2005).
His first head coaching job came with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he guided a young LeBron James for five seasons (2005-2010). Brown went 272-138 during that time, highlighted by a trip to the NBA Finals in 2007 (swept by the Spurs) and back-to-back 60-win seasons (2008-2009 [NBA Coach of the Year] and 2009-2010). Following the 2009-2010 season, with James' pending free agency (in which he left Cleveland for Miami), Brown was fired by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.
After taking a year off, Brown replaced the legendary Phil Jackson as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011, but was fired five games into his second season with the team after the "super team" of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash failed.
He then was rehired by the Cavs for the 2013-2014 season, going 33-49 before getting fired by Gilbert again.
Brown took a backseat as an assistant coach for six seasons under Steve Kerr with the Golden State Warriors, replacing Luke Walton who left for the Lakers' HC job. He won three NBA titles as part of the Warriors coaching staff, giving him four career championships (Spurs in 2003).
The veteran coach was hired by the Kings ahead of the 2022-2023 season and helped turn the franchise around, going 48-34 and making the playoffs for the first time since 2006 — helping him become the first unanimous NBA Coach of the Year.
Brown went 46-36 with the Kings in 2023-2024, but finished ninth in the West and missed the playoffs. He was relieved of his duties after a disappointing 13–18 start to the 2024-2025 NBA season.
Brown owns a career head coaching record of 454-304 (.599) and is 50-40 (.556) in the postseason with one conference title and two Coach of the Year awards on his resume.
"Mike has coached on the biggest stages of our spot and brings championship pedigree to our organization," Rose said in a statement. "His experience leading the bench during the NBA Finals, winning four titles as an assistant, and his ability to grow and develop players will all help us bring a championship to New York."
