Mike Brown spent his first year in New York answering questions, and by the end of it, the only answer that mattered was a championship.
The Knicks’ coaching search last offseason never looked neat from the outside. After firing Tom Thibodeau following a run to the conference finals for the first time in 25 years in 2025, the team tried to get permission to speak with several sitting head coaches.
New York was turned down every time. The list included Jason Kidd, Ime Udoka, Billy Donovan, Chris Finch and Quinn Snyder.
The Knicks went 0-for-5.
That left Brown as the hire, and the optics were rough. He didn’t seem like the obvious first choice, and plenty of people viewed the move as a fallback. During the regular season, his approach was picked apart and questioned.
Then the playoffs happened. Brown is 11-2 in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, and the Knicks won the 2026 championship. That makes him just the second head coach in franchise history to win a title, a distinction that turns skepticism into instant New York legend status.
On Tuesday, James Edwards III shared the results of a Knicks fan survey that asked: “A year later, have your thoughts on Mike Brown changed?”
The answers told the story clearly. A total of 61.2% said, “Yes, I was unsure he was the right coach, and now I’m sure -” Another 33.1% said, “I liked the hire then and still like it now -” The remaining 5.7% were split between being indifferent and saying the roster carried him to a title.
That means more than three-fifths of the fans who voted changed their view of Brown over the course of one season.
It’s easy to see why the hire raised eyebrows in the first place. Brown had already been fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.
At the same time, he also helped Sacramento reach the playoffs in 2023 for the first time in 17 years, and the Kings have not made the postseason since he was dismissed. Their fans would likely have plenty to say about that decision.
From the outside, the Knicks looked like a team that had missed on its preferred targets and ended up with Brown. A year later, after a title and a long-awaited breakthrough, that view doesn’t hold much weight anymore.
In Other News...
OG Anunoby Weighed In On Knicks LeBron Talk And Fans Will Notice
OG Anunoby has already become part of one of the signature images from the Knicks championship run, and now he is looking ahead with the same steady tone that has defined him since the Finals. Fresh off the game-winning tip-in that helped New York finish off the Spurs and later earned an ESPY for best play of the season, Anunoby said he is ready for the next chapter and reflected on how that moment fits into everything the team just accomplished.
The other topic drawing attention was LeBron James, and Anunoby handled it with the kind of perspective fans would expect from a player who has been through the grind of a title chase. He said James has earned the right to choose his destination, leaving the door open in a way that only adds to the speculation around what New York might look like if another star ever decides the Knicks are where he wants to land. [Read more 🡒]
Kylie Jenner Just Added A New Twist To Knicks Buzz
Kylie Jenners growing Knicks interest has become its own little subplot around the team, and it started with a familiar entry point for plenty of New York converts: Madison Square Garden. In a podcast interview, Jenner said she was never really into sports at first, but the atmosphere at a Knicks game changed that, giving her a new appreciation for the team and the buildings signature energy.
Jenner also talked about how quickly that fandom has spilled into her personal style, saying she has been putting together wardrobe choices around Knicks colors for games. Even the simple task of dressing for an arena night comes with a layer of pressure when every outfit can be picked apart in public, which helps explain why her new basketball interest is about more than just showing up and sitting courtside. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Player Just Added Another Layer To LeBrons New Sixers Rivalry
LeBron James move to Philadelphia already reshaped the Eastern Conference conversation, but it also gave the Knicks another twist to monitor as they try to navigate a crowded race at the top. James landed with the 76ers on a two-year deal this offseason, and the fit immediately made Philadelphia look like one of New Yorks biggest problems in the East.
OG Anunoby only added to the intrigue when he said it would have been fun if James had ended up in New York instead. From the Knicks side, it is the sort of what-if that lingers because the front office has been the one making the big calls, while Jalen Brunson has stayed focused on the basketball rather than the drama around it. For now, the more immediate reality is that James is in Philadelphia, and the Knicks have to deal with the consequences of that every time the two teams are mentioned together. [Read more 🡒]