NBA Trade Report: The New York Knicks are set to hire two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as their new head coach

The New York Knicks are reportedly closing in on hiring two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as their new head coach as they begin offseason preparations.

The development was first reported by NBA insider and ESPN’s Shams Charania, who took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to state, “The New York Knicks are expected to land on two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as the franchise’s next head coach.”

Brown is coming off a two-and-a-half-year stint with the Sacramento Kings, earning his second NBA Coach of the Year award after leading Sacramento to the playoffs in the 2022–23 season—their first postseason appearance since 2006. However, he was fired midway through the 2024–25 season after a poor start.

BREAKING: The New York Knicks are expected to land on two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as the franchise’s next head coach, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LOXb74LFe4

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2025

Brown boasts a 454–304 record as a head coach, having led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007. The Knicks’ role will be his fifth head coaching job. In addition to the Kings and Cavaliers (two stints), he also coached the Los Angeles Lakers. He has also served as an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and Golden State Warriors.

The 55-year-old brings vast experience and a winning mentality to the Knicks, having won four NBA championships as an assistant coach—one with the Spurs and three with the Warriors.

He replaces Tom Thibodeau, whose dismissal shocked the basketball world and Knicks fans alike. Thibodeau was fired just days after leading the team to its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years.

The decision to part ways with Thibodeau comes as a major surprise, considering he led the Knicks to a 51-win regular season—the franchise’s highest win total in over a decade—and signed a contract extension as recently as 2024. Appointed in 2020, the 67-year-old spent five seasons with the Knicks, leading them to the playoffs four times and compiling a 226–174 record. Notably, only three coaches in franchise history have won more games than Thibodeau since the Knicks’ founding in 1946.

Brown’s appointment concludes a lengthy process, during which the Knicks’ management reportedly faced multiple rejections from other candidates and franchises.

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