Mike Brown thanks Kings owner Vivek Ranadive after leading Knicks to NBA Finals
Mike Brown was on his way to the airport to board a team flight to Southern California for a game against the Los Angeles Lakers when he was fired 31 games into his third season as head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Now, just 17 months later, Brown is on his way to the NBA Finals in his first season as head coach of the New York Knicks.
The Knicks completed a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 130-93 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The Knicks will await the winner of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, who are tied at two games apiece going into Game 5 on Tuesday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The Knicks are going to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. They have won 11 in a row by an average of 23.8 points per game. Brown’s job was reportedly in jeopardy after the Knicks lost two of three to begin their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, but they won their next three games against the Hawks before sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers and Cavaliers.
Brown could be bitter about his unceremonious departure from Sacramento, but he took the high road when asked about it following Monday’s game.
“I’ve got to thank (Kings owner) Vivek Ranadive for giving me an opportunity,” Brown told reporters in Cleveland. “Obviously, it didn’t work out.”
Brown became the first unanimous winner of the Coach of the Year award after leading the Kings to the playoffs in 2022-23, his first season in Sacramento. The Kings won 48 games to secure the No. 3 seed in the West, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
The Kings won 46 games in 2023-24, but they failed to make the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament. Brown was fired after the Kings went 13-18 to start the 2024-25 season.
Brown posted a 195-107 (.549) record in two-plus seasons with the Kings. The only other coach in the Sacramento era to post a winning record was Rick Adelman, who went 395-229 (.633) from 1999-2006.
Following Monday’s win over the Cavaliers, Brown was asked if he believed he would get another opportunity to be a head coach after being fired by the Kings.
“When I got fired, I really didn’t think much about anything,” Brown said. “My wife and I, Ro and I, we went to Syndey, Australia. We went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We went to Saint Barts. We actually came to New York City, too, and ran around New York for like four days.
“I just wanted to have fun, and if an opportunity came up, great. If it didn’t, shoot, I felt lucky, blessed, fortunate. I had a good run. I felt at some point I would get another opportunity whether it was a head coach or an assistant coaching position, and so I just kind of rolled with it. Didn’t think too much about it. Obviously, this opportunity came up, and from afar, I just felt that this team was ready. I’m just thrilled to death that (Knicks owner James Dolan) and (Knicks president) Leon Rose gave me an opportunity to be a head coach again, especially here in New York.”
