After being fired by Kings, Mike Brown is ‘the reason’ Knicks are NBA champions
Mike Brown was unceremoniously dismissed as head coach of the Sacramento Kings last season.
This season, he’s an NBA champion.
Brown completed his swift and extraordinary rise to the top on Saturday, leading the New York Knicks to a 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Knicks defeated the Spurs 4-1 in the best-of-seven series to win their first championship since 1973.
Less than 18 months ago, Brown was scapegoated as the reason for Sacramento’s struggles after the Kings went 13-18 to start the 2024-25 season. Now, he’s being lauded as the reason the Knicks overcame heavy odds to win the title.
Just ask Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who was named NBA Finals MVP after scoring 45 points in Game 5.
“He understands what it is to be a champion,” Brunson told reporters at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. “He understands how to build a team, how to build habits that will put you in this position. And we’re so grateful, so thankful to have him at the top. He kept us even so many times. He’s brought the best out of us as people first, and, man, I’m so happy for him. He’s the reason why we’re (champions).”
The Knicks were 22-1 underdogs to win the NBA championship when the playoffs began. Their chances looked even bleaker when they trailed 2-1 in their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, but then something remarkable happened.
The Knicks won their next three games to eliminate the Hawks, swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals and won their first two games against the Spurs in the NBA Finals. All told, the Knicks won 13 games in a row, the second-longest playoff winnings streak in NBA history behind the 2017 Golden State Warriors (15).
Along the way, Brown delivered a masterclass in coaching with brilliant tactical adjustments, superb rotations and a masterful use of the team’s depth. He also brought out the best in Brunson, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The most significant change came with the Knicks facing a 2-1 deficit against the Hawks. Brown decided to run the team’s offense through Towns, much like he did with Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento. From that point on, the Knicks were virtually unbeatable.
“He’s done a great job of adjusting our team to give us the best chance to win,” Towns told New York media following a Game 4 win at Madison Square Garden. “The spot we’re in now is because of his courage and trust to change what we were doing and put us in a better position.”
Brown helped the Warriors win four NBA championships as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant from 2016-2022. This is his first NBA championship as a head coach.
Brown has a 507-333 (.604) career record and a 66-43 (.606) playoff record over 12 seasons as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Knicks. He was named NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Cavaliers to a 66-16 record in 2008-09 and again after leading the Kings to a 48-34 record in 2022-23.
That was Brown’s first season in Sacramento. He became the first unanimous winner of the Coach of the Year award after helping the Kings secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons.
Brown amassed a 107-88 record over two-plus seasons with the Kings, joining Rick Adelman as the only coaches in the Sacramento era to post a winning record.
This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 10:50 AM.
