“The head coaching search doesn’t start until a candidate is interviewed twice,” or something along those lines.
Mike Brown will return for a second round of interviews with the New York Knicks as the team continues to search for a new head coach, per Stefan Bondy.
He initially interviewed for the position on June 18.
Brown, along with fellow freshly unemployed Taylor Jenkins, continues to top the list of candidates most likely to be named as the next head coach in New York. Other names credibly floated around have been Minnesota’s Micah Nori, New Orleans’ James Borrego, and the University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.
Brown, 55, was most recently the head coach of the Sacramento Kings before being let go by the team in December of 2024, mere months after signing an extension.
Notably, in 2023, he coached the Kings to their first playoff berth in 16 seasons, breaking the longest postseason drought in NBA history. For this, he was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year award that season.
Over 195 regular seasons coached with Sacramento from 2022-2024, Brown coached the Kings to a 107-88 record.
Brown got his first breakthrough as an NBA head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2005-2006 season. He coached the team, led by 21-year-old LeBron James, to 50 wins and its first playoff appearance with the young superstar on the roster.
He would ultimately coach the Cavaliers for five seasons during this stint, making at least the second round of the playoffs and one NBA Finals appearance while doing so.
Immediately before his time in Sacramento, Brown was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors from 2016 to 2022—the height of their dynasty. He served as acting head coach during periods when Steve Kerr could not be with the team due to chronic back issues and led the team to a 12-0 record during the 2017 playoffs in Kerr’s absence.