New York Knicks hire two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown to guide club

NEW YORK – Mike Brown, a two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) Coach of the Year, has been hired as coach of the New York Knicks for his “championship pedigree”, the team announced on July 7.

The 55-year-old American went 454-304 as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. The Kings fired him last December after a 13-18 start.

“After a thorough and extensive search process, we are pleased to announce Mike Brown as the head coach of the New York Knicks,” Knicks president Leon Rose said.

“Mike has coached on the biggest stages in our sport and brings championship pedigree to our organisation.

“His experience leading the bench during the NBA Finals, winning four titles as an assistant coach and his ability to grow and develop players will all help us as we aim to bring a championship to New York.”

The Knicks, who have not won an NBA title since 1973, reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 but lost to the Indiana Pacers.

That was enough to prompt the Knicks to fire Tom Thibodeau in June, after five years as coach.

“Leon and our staff ran a thorough and thoughtful process that led our organisation to Mike and I’m pleased to see him on the sideline for us next season,” Knicks owner James L. Dolan said.

Brown went 107-88 as coach of the Kings for three seasons.

In the 2022-23 campaign, his first in Sacramento, Brown’s team won 48 games and reached the play-offs for the first time since 2006 as he took the NBA Coach of the Year award, the first to do so by a unanimous vote.

After assistant stops at the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers – including a staff role on the 2003 Spurs NBA title run – Brown was named coach of the Cavaliers in 2005, who then boasted rising superstar LeBron James.

Brown helped the Cavs reach the play-offs for the first time since 1998 in 2006 and then led them to the NBA Finals in 2007. He was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 2008-09 after guiding Cleveland to a league-high 66 wins.

He was fired in May 2010. Brown replaced Phil Jackson as coach of the Lakers in May 2011, only to be dismissed in November 2012. He was rehired by the Cavs in 2013 but sacked again after they went 33-49 and missed the play-offs.

From 2016 to 2022, Brown was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, who captured three NBA titles during his stay there. In the 2017 play-offs, Brown went 12-0 while coach Steve Kerr was absent during the Warriors’ championship run.

Brown left for the Kings in 2022.

In other news, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entire 2025-26 season after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals, team president Kevin Pritchard said on July 7.

Haliburton was playing with a right calf strain when he went down in the first quarter of Indiana’s 103-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the title-deciding contest.

“I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever,” Pritchard said. “He will not play next year though. We would not jeopardise that now. Don’t get any hopes up that he will play.”

Haliburton sparked the Pacers to their first NBA Finals since 2000, averaging 17.3 points, 8.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals a game in the play-offs.

“He plays best when he is really hungry and I’m guessing next year, he’s going to be champing at the bit to prove to everybody that he’s back,” Pritchard added.

“We’re just going to have to take it slow and make sure he’s back to 100 per cent.”

Meanwhile, veteran guard Kyle Lowry, who spent parts of the last two seasons playing in his home town of Philadelphia, signed a one-year deal on July 7 to play his 20th NBA campaign with the 76ers.

Terms were not disclosed in the deal for the six-time All-Star, who was drafted 24th by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006. AFP