Why Mike Brown is better Knicks bet than Tom Thibodeau to win NBA title
Tom Thibodeau had a lot of success with the Knicks, but Mike Brown is a good bet to take them to the next level.By Drew MarescaJul 6, 2025 at 2:37 PM ET
The New York Knicks ended their coaching search this week, reaching an agreement with two-time Coach of the Year winner Mike Brown. The Knicks will be Brown's fourth stop as a head coach. New York hopes to be the first team with which Brown can take the final step and win an NBA championship, but the pressure will be on from the very first game.
Brown replaces Tom Thibodeau, who led the Knicks to an impressive 226-174 record across five seasons and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history since 2000. Despite falling two wins short of the NBA Finals, New York made the decision to fire Thibodeau.
Why did Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau?
The decision came as a surprise, as Thibodeau had a three-year extension that was set to kick in beginning next season. But the front office very clearly understood that the new salary cap rules make for smaller championship windows. Thus, removing him was all about capitalizing on that window.
Coach Brown may or may not be an all-time great coach, but this Knicks team in the present-day NBA doesn't need an all-time great coach. It simply cannot be held back by a coach's stubborn preferences or philosophies, and that is exactly what removing Thibdoeau was about. The fact that the Knicks' brass became smitten with Brown was icing on the cake. But leadership was very clearly willing to go shopping for a new head coach without any guarantees.
But how, exactly, is Brown an upgrade on Thibodeau? Much of it has to do with the assumption that Brown will be more open to consistently playing his bench—and not only after being backed into a corner by injuries or the threat of elimination.
Thibodeau received significant criticism about his limited rotation throughout his tenure as Knicks coach. He rarely played bench players extended minutes, except when injuries struck, and he stuck with his starters for significant minutes in the playoffs despite the lineup posting an atrocious net rating.
Thibodeau's limited rotation allegedly became a major source of frustration in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, as he resisted playing Mitchell Robinson extended minutes. Thibodeau eventually relented, inserting Robinson into the starting lineup. But even then, he continued to play Josh Hart more minutes than Robinson.
Mike Brown can build on what Tom Thibodeau established
Mike Brown previously coached the Cleveland Cavaliers (in two separate stints), Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. He boasts a career 454-304 record, and he oversaw the 2006-07 Cavaliers team that advanced to the NBA Finals before losing. Brown has also been an assistant for Rick Carlisle, Gregg Popovich, and Steve Kerr in his career. Brown's most recent stretch with the Kings demonstrated a unique ability to run complicated schemes and connect with his players—even if he was fired midway through last season.
Brown is known for going a little deeper into his bench. In his last full season in Sacramento, Brown played 11 players 12 or more minutes per game. Granted, injuries impacted who played with whom, meaning Brown didn't play 11 players for 12 minutes in every game of the season. But he is still likely to lean on his reserves more than Thibodeau.
Additionally, the Knicks wanted a more collaborative coach who is open to management input and involves his assistants. That is something that Brown reportedly impressed leadership with in his interview.
At the end of the day, the Knicks' decision to hire a new coach was about leadership's concern with the possibility of plateauing. Sure, individual players may have supported Thibodeau, but his lack of creativity in lineup construction and offensive sets left a lot to be desired. While it remains to be seen if Brown can build on what Thibodeau accomplished in New York, management's aggressive maneuvering demonstrates an urgency that will be much appreciated by everyone around the team—unless it doesn't work out.
7/6/2025 7:48 PM