Mike Brown is back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007 — the 19-year gap is the longest by a coach in league history.
His 11-game playoff win streak is also the longest by a head coach in his first season with a team.
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Mike Brown New York Knicks
New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown made history when his team advanced to the NBA Finals with a series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brown, whom the Knicks hired as the team’s head coach last offseason after they fired Tom Thibodeau, helped guide the Knicks to the NBA Finals in his first season with his new team. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Brown made history on several other fronts.
According to ESPN Insights, Brown made history in two different ways when the Knicks beat the Cavs and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
First, Brown made history by becoming the NBA head coach with the longest gap between NBA Finals appearances. The last time Brown was an NBA head coach in the finals was in 2007, when he was the Cavs’ head coach, and they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in four games. Now, he’s back in the NBA Finals with the Knicks in 2026. That 19-year gap between finals appearances as an NBA head coach is the longest in league history.
In addition, Brown also made history with the Knicks winning their 11th straight game in the playoffs. That’s the longest playoff win streak by a coach in his first season with a team.
Mike Brown is back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007 — the 19-year gap is the longest by a coach in league history.
His 11-game playoff win streak is also the longest by a head coach in his first season with a team.
While Brown has not yet won an NBA Championship as a head coach, he already has four rings, and he will be looking to add a fifth to complete one hand when the Knicks battle either the Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder in this year’s NBA Finals.
Brown previously won a ring as an assistant coach to Gregg Popovich on the 2003 Spurs, and he won three rings as an assistant coach to Steve Kerr on the Golden State Warriors in 2017, 2018, and 2022. The fact that he has so much experience in the NBA Finals as an assistant is surely going to help him out when the Knicks take on either the Spurs or Thunder in this year’s finals.
Despite all of his success in the NBA, the road has not been an easy one for Brown, who had been fired four times as a head coach before landing with the Knicks.
Brown was first fired by the Cavs in 2010 after five seasons as their head coach, and then he went to the Los Angeles Lakers. He coached the Lakers for just one full season before being fired five games into his second season with the team. He then returned to Cleveland, where he coached one more season before being fired yet again. Then, after nine years away from head coaching, he went to the Sacramento Kings. He helped coach the Kings to their first postseason appearance in 16 years, but after two-and-a-half seasons in Sacramento, Brown was fired by the Kings, his fourth time being fired as an NBA head coach.
But when the Knicks fired Thibodeau, they gave Brown a call and gave him a shot to prove everyone who had fired him before wrong. So far, it looks like a genius move by New York, as Brown has proven to be the perfect fit for the Knicks, and perhaps the missing piece to help them capture their first NBA title since 1973.
What a story.
Adam Martin Adam Martin is a sports journalist with over 15 years of experience. He has a speciality in MMA, while also covering the Big 4 Sports. Adam is currently a contributor to Heavy.com, with previous experience working for The Toronto Star, Sportsnet, theScore, Bookies, BJPenn.com, and MMAOddsbreaker.com. More about Adam Martin
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