Madison Square Garden. The new coach acknowledged it wasn’t always perfect. The Knicks’ offense did get stagnant at times, especially in the third quarter when Cleveland outscored the Knicks 37-22 to come back from a 15-point deficit and tie the game.

Former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau reportedly felt betrayed after his firing, as New York begins a new era under Mike Brown.

When the New York Knicks chose Mike Brown over Tom Thibodeau to become head coach for the 2025–2026 season, fans were left with plenty of questions. Would the offense become more spaced out? Could the bench improve from last season? And just how different would Brown’s approach be from Thibodeau’s?

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison surprised the sports world when he traded Luka Dončić last season. Then he shockingly ended up with the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, which landed him Cooper Flagg, the youngest draftee to go first overall since LeBron James in 2003.

Mike Brown brings a very different style of play to a Knicks team fresh off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, where they were outmatched and outworked by a deeper and younger Pacers team.