New Knicks Coach Mike Brown is Perfect Fit for Key Reason

New Knicks Coach Mike Brown is Perfect Fit for Key Reason originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The New York Knicks were so close to qualifying for the NBA Finals. After earning the No. 3 seed in the NBA Playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons in six games, although it often required some late-game heroics from Clutch Player of the Year Award winner Jalen Brunson.

Those heroics continued into the second round, where they took on the defending champion Boston Celtics. While they were underdogs going into the series, they erased significant deficits in each of the first two games to take a 2-0 lead. That proved to be too much for the Celtics to handle, and the Knicks won in six games.

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown is perfect fit for key reason

That set up a meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals with their rival, the Indiana Pacers. This was just the latest chapter of the famed "Hicks vs Knicks" rivalry, and it immediately lived up to its billing.

It was a hard-fought series, but the Knicks didn't have enough down the stretch to outlast or contain the Pacers. Still, they had made the conference finals for the first time in 25 years. However, the Knicks weren't impressed and fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. After a lengthy search, they hired Mike Brown.

Brown could end up being a perfect fit for this particular reason.

"Mike Brown spent years searching for any type of wing help," said Anthony Slater of The Athletic. "He wanted OG Anunoby before the Knicks got him. He was trying to find length and strength on the wing.

"Regardless of the fires he's going to have to put out and the Knicks in general will have to put out, I think he's going to feel more comfortable knowing Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are the firemen helping to put those out."

"Mike Brown wanted OG Anunoby before the Knicks got him"

— Anthony Slater The Athletic pic.twitter.com/LrJ8hMkdUL

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 9, 2025

Brown had previously been with the Sacramento Kings and helped them reach the playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2006 before being fired after 31 games this season. As a result, he took home his second Coach of the Year Award.

His first came with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009-10 season when he helped lead them to a league-high 61 wins. The Knicks now hope Brown is the answer after firing Thibodeau after five seasons.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.