The Knicks have found their Tom Thibodeau replacement — and he's one of the most experienced coaches that was on the open market.
Mike Brown is reportedly set to take on New York's head coaching job, becoming the 32nd head coach in franchise history. It's certainly a role that comes with high expectations, as the Knicks won 51 games in 2024-25 before making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, the 55-year-old Brown has seen a lot in the NBA. He's been the head coach of some prominent teams in the past but has also had somewhat interesting exits from those franchises.
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As he now heads to New York, here's a breakdown of Brown's previous coaching stops, including why he's been fired in the past.
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How many teams has Mike Brown coached?
Brown has had four separate stints as an NBA head coach in the past, but with three teams. The Knicks will be his fifth head coaching job and the fourth team he'll have been in charge of.
- 2005-10: Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2011-12: Los Angeles Lakers
- 2013-14: Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2022-24: Sacramento Kings
- 2025-present: New York Knicks
Additionally, Brown held assistant coaching roles with the Wizards from 1997-99, the Spurs from 2000-03, the Pacers from 2003-05 and the Warriors from 2016-22.
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Did Mike Brown coach LeBron James?
Yes, Mike Brown coached LeBron James from 2005-210 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brown has a 265-124 record while coaching with LeBron James on his teams.
Mike Brown coaching timeline
1997-99: Assistant coach, Wizards
After two seasons of college basketball at the University of San Diego, plus five seasons as a video coordinator and scout for the Denver Nuggets, Brown's first coaching gig came with the Wizards.
He joined Washington as an assistant coach under Bernie Bickerstaff and remained in D.C. for two seasons.
2000-03: Assistant coach, Spurs
In 2000, Brown joined Gregg Popovich's staff in San Antonio as an assistant coach. He was also the head coach for the Spurs' summer league teams.
In 2003, Brown was a member of the coaching staff of the Spurs squad that won a title.
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2003-05: Assistant coach, Pacers
Brown's third assistant coaching role came in 2003 when he joined the Pacers' staff under Rick Carlisle. Indiana made the playoffs in his two seasons with the team, including a 2004 ECF run.
2005-10: Head coach, Cavaliers
Brown's first NBA head coaching job came in 2005 when the Cavaliers hired him to replace Brendan Malone. He became the second-youngest head coach in the league at the time, also assigned to coaching a young LeBron James; Cleveland had not made the postseason since 1998 at the time, missing the playoffs in James' first two seasons.
Immediately, Brown led the Cavaliers to more success. They won 50 games in his first season, falling in seven games to the Pistons in the second round of the playoffs. Cleveland won another 50 games under Brown in 2006-07, then took its success a step further by making a run to the NBA Finals.
While James did reach the Finals for the first time in his legendary career, Cleveland was swept by Popovich's Spurs.
The following season, Brown led the Cavaliers to 45 wins and a loss in the second round, but in 2008-09, Cleveland became one of the best teams in the league, winning 66 games in the regular season, a new franchise record. Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year, but the Cavaliers wound up falling to Orlando in the ECF.
Once again in 2009-10, Cleveland was at the top of the league with 61 wins, but also once again, it didn't translate to a championship. The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Celtics in the second round, becoming the first team in NBA history to win 60 games in consecutive seasons without advancing to the Finals.
With the historic imbalance between regular season success and playoff success, the Cavaliers fired Brown after the 2009-10 season despite his leadership in the franchise returning to national prominence. It was also a decision that was partially made in an attempt to get James to re-sign in Cleveland, as the star wing became the top free agent on the market that offseason. Instead, even with Brown being fired, James famously took his talents to South Beach, joining the Heat.
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2011-12: Head coach, Lakers
Brown had one season away from coaching, but was hired as the next head coach of the Lakers in May 2011, agreeing to a three-year deal. He succeeded Phil Jackson with Los Angeles just two seasons removed from going back-to-back behind Kobe Bryant.
The 2011-12 season was shortened by the league's lockout, but the Brown-led Lakers made the playoffs. However, they were eliminated by the Thunder in the second round.
That offseason, Los Angeles worked to put together a star-studded squad that included Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, and Metta World Peace. Despite high expectations with that unit, the team went winless in the preseason, then 1-4 in its first five regular season matchups.
Following the rough start to the 2012-13 season, Brown was fired by the Lakers. With title expectations but a lack of chemistry, growing injuries, Howard being a pending free agent, and team owner Jerry Buss's health declining, Los Angeles was in win-now mode, having a short leash with Brown before firing him.
2013-14: Head coach, Cavaliers
Brown wound up returning to the Cavaliers as head coach just a few years after he was fired, with team owner Dan Gilbert saying it was a "mistake" to fire him in the first place. He joined Cleveland ahead of the 2013-14 season.
As it turned out, Brown had a short leash once again. After replacing Byron Scott as the team's coach, he led the Cavaliers to a 33-49 season while missing the playoffs, A young Kyrie Irving was the centerpiece of the squad.
Brown was fired following the 2013-14 season, again making him a coaching free agent.
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2016-22: Associate head coach, Warriors
After taking another hiatus from coaching, Brown got away from being a head coach when he joined the Warriors in 2016 as an associate head coach, replacing Luke Walton on Steve Kerr's staff.
When Kerr was unable to coach due to chronic back pain at the time, it was Brown who filled in as head coach, including 12 games during the 2016-17 NBA playoffs. Golden State went 12-0 in those games Brown coached, going on to win the title in 2017 behind its superstar core of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Warriors' 16-1 record in the playoffs also became the best in league history.
Once again, Brown was a member of the team's staff when it won the 2018 Finals over the Cavaliers, who had James and Irving, two players he had coached in the past.
In 2022, Brown filled in for Kerr as head coach for a game during the Western Conference Finals, which the Warriors won over Memphis. Golden State won another title in Brown's final year as an assistant with the team, his fourth title as an assistant coach and third with the Warriors.
2022-24: Head coach, Kings
Brown got back into head coaching when he joined the Kings in 2022, replacing Luke Walton and Alvin Gentry. In his first season, 2022-23, Sacramento returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 by winning 48 games. Brown was named the NBA's 2022-23 Coach of the Year, his second time winning the award. He also became the first coach to unanimously win the award.
However, the Kings went 46-36 and missed the playoffs the following season, then Brown was fired 31 games into the 2024-25 season by Sacramento. Despite getting the team back in the postseason under two years prior, Brown was let go following a 13-18 start to the year and a blown 10-point lead to the Pistons with three minutes remaining the day before being let go.
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Mike Brown coaching record
In nine full seasons and two partial seasons as an NBA head coach, Brown has accumulated a 454-304 career record, which equates to a .599 winning percentage.
His deepest playoff run came in 2006-07 when a LeBron James-led Cavaliers squad reached the NBA Finals but got swept by the Spurs.
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Regular season record
| Season | Team | Record | W/L% |
| 2005-06 | Cavaliers | 50-32 | .610 |
| 2006-07 | Cavaliers | 50-32 | .610 |
| 2007-08 | Cavaliers | 45-37 | .549 |
| 2008-09 | Cavaliers | 66-16 | .805 |
| 2009-10 | Cavaliers | 61-21 | .744 |
| 2011-12 | Lakers | 41-25* | .621 |
| 2012-13 | Lakers | 1-4** | .200 |
| 2013-14 | Cavaliers | 33-49 | .402 |
| 2022-23 | Kings | 48-34 | .585 |
| 2023-24 | Kings | 46-36 | .561 |
| 2024-25 | Kings | 13-18** | .419 |
| Career: | 454-304 | .599 |
*Lockout-shortened season
**Fired mid-season
NBA playoffs record
| Year | Team | Record | Finish |
| 2006 | Cavaliers | 7-6 | Lost in East semifinals to Pistons |
| 2007 | Cavaliers | 12-8 | Lost in NBA Finals to Spurs |
| 2008 | Cavaliers | 7-6 | Lost in East semifinals to Celtics |
| 2009 | Cavaliers | 10-4 | Lost in Eastern Conference Finals to Magic |
| 2010 | Cavaliers | 6-5 | Lost in East semifinals to Celtics |
| 2012 | Lakers | 5-7 | Lost in West semifinals to Thunder |
| 2023 | Kings | 3-4 | Lost in West first round to Warriors |
| Career: | 50-40 |
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