The measuring stick for new New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown is obvious. Do better than Tom Thibodeau. Which means a spot in the NBA Finals. You don’t fire Thibodeau, who coached the Knicks to back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95 and led them to the conference finals for the first time since 2000,

The Knicks explored a number of candidates, but ultimately landed on Brown to lead them into the 2025-26 season. They fired Thibodeau in early June, days after their playoff exit against the Pacers. Thibodeau won 56.

Brown is notorious for holding players accountable. His new employer is betting on his personality and diligence more than anything else.