Mike Brown’s leadership delivers Knicks first championship in decades
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Less than two years after being dismissed by Sacramento, head coach Mike Brown steered the New York Knicks to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, completing a 16-3 postseason run that ended in five games against San Antonio.
“He understands what it is to be a champion,” Finals MVP Jalen Brunson said, crediting Brown’s ability to “build habits” that kept the roster steady throughout the year. Brown, now a two-time NBA Coach of the Year with five rings overall—four won as an assistant—met individually with each starter before the playoffs, then gathered them as a group to resolve any lingering concerns. Assistant coach Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, called the meetings pivotal to the club’s surge.
Brunson’s historic Game 5 effort
At 6’2”, Brunson is shorter than 95 percent of the league, but his 45-point performance in the clincher accounted for nearly half of New York’s 94 points and slammed the door on any Spurs comeback. “It’s everything I dreamed of,” the guard said. Brunson left Dallas in free agency and accepted a lower salary to give team president Leon Rose added cap flexibility—an investment rewarded by a title and personal recognition as Finals MVP.
Brown pushes for Jent
Postgame, Brown highlighted associate head coach Chris Jent, noting the longtime assistant’s role as offensive coordinator and his Summer League championship last July. “I’m surprised he has not gotten an interview,” Brown said, urging teams with current vacancies to consider Jent.
Robinson’s decisive rebound
Veteran center Mitchell Robinson—the last remaining Knick from the club’s 17-win 2018-19 squad—grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 22 seconds left in Game 5, setting up a free throw by OG Anunoby that pushed the margin to two possessions. Robinson, who has been playing with a broken hand, battled rookie Victor Wembanyama all night and later joked about his pregame ritual: “Yesterday, at the hotel, I caught a snake… we won today.”
Karl-Anthony Towns, who fouled out late in the finale, called Brown’s willingness to tweak schemes mid-season “courageous,” crediting those changes for New York’s postseason rise.
The title is New York’s first since 1973 and comes one summer after the organization replaced Tom Thibodeau with Brown—a move that, according to multiple Knicks players, proved decisive once the playoffs began.
Source: Hoops Rumors
