With Knicks, Mike Brown knows it's championship or bust: 'That's why I'm here'

Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News on Jul 8, 2025

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NEW YORK — The Knicks are singularly focused on winning a championship. New head coach Mike Brown received the message loud and clear.

Brown understands the assignment at Madison Square Garden and is embracing the championship-or-bust expectations that come with his new job. The coach replacing Tom Thibodeau inherits a 51-win roster fresh off an Eastern Conference finals appearance — and he wasted no time confronting those lofty aspirations head-on during his introductory press conference at the team’s Tarrytown training facility on Tuesday.

“First of all, nobody has any bigger expectations than I do. My expectations are high. This is the Knicks. We talked about Madison Square Garden being iconic. We talked about our fans. I love and embrace the expectations that come along with it,” Brown said. “Our goal, starting with Mr. [James] Dolan to [team president] Leon [Rose] to the players, all the way down to the fans, is to build a sustainable, winning culture that produces championships. That’s why I’m here.”

Brown has never won a championship as a head coach but knows what it looks like. He’s been to six NBA Finals: once as head coach of the 2007 LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, once as an assistant with Gregg Popovich’s 2003 title-winning San Antonio Spurs, and four times with the Golden State Warriors — including three championships — as one of Steve Kerr’s trusted assistants from 2016-2022.

“I’m fortunate to know what it takes to create that [championship] success: a lot of hard work, a high level of commitment and a focus on today,” Brown said as part of his opening statement.

Later, he spoke about the opportunity ahead in an Eastern Conference many consider wide-open for the Knicks. Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton each suffered Achilles injuries in the playoffs, likely removing Boston and Indiana from immediate contention. Milwaukee waived Damian Lillard (Achilles), and Cleveland is expected to open the season without Darius Garland.

“First of all, you don’t ever want to see anybody get hurt. Especially the way those guys did. That’s unfortunate,” Brown said. “Throw basketball out the window — that’s just unfortunate for them as individuals. On top of that, for their families and organizations. There are a lot of good teams out there.

“It doesn’t matter if those guys are injured or not. At the end of the day, teams are going to find ways to win. We don’t feel like it’s going to be easy, any easier, just because of the injuries. Going forward, we’re going to have to focus on this thing one day at a time, one practice at a time, one shootaround at a time, and try to get better each and every day, so when it comes time to make our move in the playoffs, we’re ready.”

Brown plans to lean on lessons from coaching superstars across eras — from Tim Duncan to James, Stephen Curry to Kevin Durant, Draymond Green to De’Aaron Fox — to deliver what New York has been waiting over half a century to see.

“I learned a lot from all those guys,” Brown said. “They’re all different. That’s what makes my experience, my background, unique — just being around those guys. All those guys helped me grow in some way, shape, or form, and they all, whether they want to admit it or not, they all have a little bit to do with why I’m standing right here.”

Brown knows the standard. The only question left is whether he can lift a franchise starving for its first title since 1973 to the summit it believes it’s ready to reach.