The New York Knicks are closing in on hiring Mike Brown as head coach, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The move comes a little over a month after they fired Tom Thibodeau following the team’s most-successful season in 25 years.
Brown most recently led the Sacramento Kings for two-plus seasons and signed a three-year contract extension in June 2024. After a 13-18 start last season, the Kings fired Brown in December.
A two-time NBA Coach of the Year and four-time NBA champion as an assistant, Brown has a 454-304 career record as a head coach with seven playoff appearances. He led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007.
The Knicks’ job will be Brown’s fifth as an NBA head coach. Along with the Kings, he led the Los Angeles Lakers and had two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has also served as an assistant with the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and Golden State Warriors.
Brown was a candidate for the Knicks job in 2020 before the franchise ultimately hired Thibodeau.
Brown’s hiring comes at the end of a process that began with numerous rejections. The Knicks requested to speak to Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, Quin Snyder of the Atlanta Hawks, Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls, Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets, and Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves but were turned down.
T’Wolves assistant Micah Nori and Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins also interviewed before the team landed on Brown.
The Knicks enter the 2025-26 season coming off a 51-win regular season, their highest win total in over a decade and a playoff run that saw them each the Eastern Conference finals.
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