New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown replaced Tom Thibodeau this offseason, even though the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
There was a sense that the New York Knicks had reached their breaking point under Tom Thibodeau. To get the team back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, they needed to bring in some fresh faces.
Their pick was Mike Brown, who had an impressive tenure with the Sacramento Kings. He is a highly regarded coach within the league and has been named NBA Coach of the Year twice, in 2009 and 2023.
Mikal Bridges, who reportedly had issues with Thibodeau during his time with the Knicks, weighed in on what his first training camp with Brown was like.
Bridges was one of the Knicks’ starters who had to play a lot of time in Thibodeau’s system. He averaged 37 minutes per game last season, the most in his career.
In the middle of this year, Bridges said he talked to Thibodeau about playing too much. “I don’t need to play 48, 47 (minutes),” he said. That was reported as one of the many reasons the Knicks left as head coach.
Bridges, perhaps relieved to see his new coach in the locker room, immediately praised Brown to reporters.
When asked what training camp and preseason was like with Brown, he said, “Really good guy. Just being with the players and holding the players accountable. Preaching everything every day.”
“He and his coaches all run a tight ship, and you know that no matter what we’re doing out there, no matter what the situation is, we’re all on the same page.
“That’s a credit to him because I think he’s the main leader, the vocal leader on the team. And having everyone on the same page makes it easier for us as players, because no matter which coach I talk to, I hear the same thing.”
“It’s been great, I love how he pushes us. Responsibility. You can make some good plays, and some plays you might feel like you’re not doing the right thing. He’ll let you know.”
“Why wouldn’t you want that? Maybe in the moment, men might be a little upset about that, but if we wanted that, there wouldn’t be a Mr. Nice Guy. We have to hold people accountable. And he’s not doing it in a disrespectful way, he just wants greatness from everyone.”
Brown won four NBA championships as an assistant coach for Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs and Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors. He knows what it takes to go all the way and is clearly trying to establish a culture in New York.
Thibodeau played with the mantra that “no lead is safe” and always played big minutes as a starter throughout the regular season, regardless of the score. Almost inevitably, it caught up with his team in the postseason.
Brown will use his experience in the Championship to take a long-term view of this year. He said in September: “The most important thing is to make sure you watch everyone’s game time, not follow the games. There may be some games where you throw in the towel early.”
That’s a completely different philosophy than Thibodeau and should be refreshing for Bridges. Brown is counting on his championship experience to stay in the game long term.
Brown admitted that Kerr and the Warriors chased too much of their record-breaking 73-9 season, which cost them the 2016 championship. They didn’t accept the loss late in the game as a loss, allowing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to surpass them in the Finals.
“It was like we caught up with them (in 2016), and from that point on, (Kerr) was like, ‘I’m not going to chase you anymore,'” Brown said.
Under Brown, the Knicks are heading into a new era with championships in mind. I hope that he will be able to get enough rest this time before heading into the postseason.