The New York Knicks are close to finalizing a deal to hire two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as their next head coach, replacing former Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Brown has been offered the job and the two sides are trying to finalize the deal. The decision follows New York’s surprising decision to fire Thibodeau early last month following their loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. Thibodeau won 56.5% of his regular-season games as Knicks head coach, going 226-174 overall over five seasons. In the 2024-25 season, the Knicks were 51-31 and earned the East’s No. 3 seed.
New York requested to speak with five current NBA coaches about the vacant head coach position — including , including Ime Udoka (Rockets), Jason Kidd (Mavericks), Billy Donovan (Bulls) and Quin Snyder (Hawks) — but were subsequently denied. According to Charania, the team did interview former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, New Orleans Pelicans associate coach James Borrego, and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori.
Brown, 55, is an experienced NBA head coach, having had stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), the Los Angeles Lakers, and most recently the Sacramento Kings. The two-time NBA Coach of the Year (2009, ’23) took the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007, and has won four NBA Finals as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs (2003) and the Golden State Warriors (2017, ’18, ’22). Brown was fired from his post as the Kings’ head coach this past December after a 13-18 start to the season.
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