Oct 5, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Oct 5, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
After lifting the NBA trophy last season, there are huge expectations from the New York Knicks to repeat title success in the upcoming campaign. While the Knicks certainly boast the roster and the potential to run it back, no one is holding them more accountable than head coach Mike Brown.
In just his first season with the Knicks, Mike Brown transformed New York into a championship, ending the city’s 53-year-long title drought. For all intents and purposes, Brown’s legacy with the Knicks is already cemented. Still, the head coach clearly has bigger goals in mind.
For obvious reasons, winning back-to-back championships, especially in the current era, is beyond demanding. But given the importance of fostering winning habits, Mike Brown was quite disappointed with the team on Wednesday. Brown began by highlighting the value of hard work, especially for a title-winning squad, stating:
“Everybody has short-term memory, and it’s ‘what can you do for me?’ lately. So nobody can ever take that away from any of us, because we were all a part of it. But if you want to stay on top, it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be even harder. So Mikal, OG, me, and everybody else has to bust their behind to really embrace the process that’s in front of us because there’s going to be more scrutiny, and the scrutiny might even be at a higher level.”
While Mike Brown and the Knicks’ core had clearly bought into this approach, Brown wasn’t too satisfied with the effort shown by the team’s reserves and training camp additions who were still vying for a roster spot. When speaking about the lack of effort during Wednesday’s practice, he warned:
“I brought it up today when we were competing. And I specifically went down the line talking about Jalen, Mikal, OG, KAT, and Josh. I said, ‘Those five, they’re going to play. And if they do something wrong, I’m going to get them, and we’re going to figure it out. But they’re still going to play.'”
“I said, ‘Everybody else in the gym, you’re fighting. You’re fighting either to make the team or you’re fighting for minutes. Look around. This is not because we won last year. This has nothing to do with last year’s team. Those five guys are the same. But everybody, this is a new year, a new team. We’ve got to look forward.’ And so, every day is a competition.”
Mike Brown’s frustrations are understandable. Although the Knicks’ roster is largely unchanged, save for the departure of players like Mitchell Robinson, the team has seen several players step forward and try to secure a place on the roster through training camp.
For the most part, this has been a promising process, especially since it has seen veterans such as Bruce Brown and James Wiseman compete. However, given how demanding it can be to be part of a title-winning squad, a lack of effort during practice cannot be overlooked.
“We weren’t practicing well,” Brown continued. “And I said, ‘If we’re going to practice like that, you’re going to see at the end of the day, it’s not going to be in your favor.’ We should be pushing each other to get better while competing for minutes and/or to make the team.'”
While the fight for the Knicks’ 14th roster spot will be heating up over the course of preseason, Mike Brown will also be concerned about his team’s effort during their latest preseason outing.
New York suffered a 120-97 beatdown at the hands of the new-look Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Although it is preseason and the backlash of such a loss isn’t significant, there will be several aspects from the game that Mike Brown will hope to address in the upcoming matches.
With physicality, defense, and rebounding emerging as key factors from the game, Brown will be eager to get his team back on track. On a positive note, New York’s chance to rewrite their first loss of the preseason may come sooner than expected.
The Knicks are scheduled to face the Washington Wizards for their first home game of the preseason on Thursday, October 8. Although the Wizards are projected to be an improved team this season, Mike Brown and the Knicks will aim to correct their errors and assert their status as champions.