The New York Knicks are hitting all the right notes — under new head coach Mike Brown, they’re singing a brand new hit.
Twenty-five games into the 2025 NBA season, the Knicks stand tall with an 18-7 record. They are officially two games behind the Detroit Pistons from being the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they can thank Mike Brown for reaching new early-season heights.
From Thibs to Brown: A Fresh Start for the Knicks
From July 2020 to June 2025, highly regarded head coach Tom Thibodeau, or “Thibs” as New York fans grew to call him, led the Knicks to 226 wins and 174 losses in the regular season, and four playoff appearances during those five campaigns.
Despite that long-term success, Mike Brown hasn’t shied away from reshaping the Knicks’ culture, schemes, and starting five this season.
In comparison to the Knicks’ 15-10 record through 25 games last season, the team has improved by three wins this year. It’s a small sample, but Mike Brown’s strategy and adjustments have already produced more success than Tom Thibodeau managed through a third of last year’s campaign.
Fans have always known Tom Thibodeau as a hard-nosed coach who works his players hard. He rarely eased up or let things get light-hearted. Earlier this season, unlike Thibodeau, Mike Brown animatedly joked and cheered at a press conference over Mitchell Robinson’s performance.
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Same Edge, New Identity
There’s no question that Tom Thibodeau is a successful NBA head coach. His .579 career winning percentage is a testament to his winning methods. It was all about accountability under Thibodeau; that’s a principle that Mike Brown has upheld through the passing of the torch.
Most players, coaches, and fans would agree that accountability is a cornerstone of winning. Knicks star Mikal Bridges backed that up, noting just how serious Mike Brown is about holding his players accountable.
Undoubtedly, Mike Brown is a quality head coach with a hardcore mentality. However, his intensity does not grind down his players the way Tom Thibodeau’s did. The results so far suggest that approach has paid off.
The clearest example of this is how Mike Brown has managed minutes across the roster. He has used Knicks star Josh Hart more conservatively than Thibodeau did.
Brown Reins In Josh Hart’s Minutes
In 2024, under Tom Thibodeau, Josh Hart played the most minutes on average of any player in the NBA. Hart’s league-leading 37.6 average minutes played earned him recognition as one of the game’s iron men.
This season under Mike Brown, Hart has received a significant cut in playing time, dropping his season average to 29.7 minutes through 25 games.
Brown has used the excess Hart minutes to distribute among his bench, which has really come into its own lately. A key bench piece for the Knicks has been SG Landry Shamet, who has seen a genuine uptick in his play time. In ’25, Shamet only saw action for 15.2 minutes on average. In Mike Brown’s revamped system, he sees the court for 20.9 minutes per game.
Other role players, such as Tyler Kolek, Mitchell Robinson, and most notably Miles McBride, have seen upticks in their playtime due to Mike Brown’s structure.
OFFRTG, DEFRTG, NetRTG: All Up
The numbers don’t lie. Thibodeau’s 2024 Knicks ranked well in offensive rating (OffRTG: 118.5, 5th of 30), defensive rating (DefRTG: 114.3, 14th of 30), and net rating (NetRTG: +4.2, 8th of 30). To Thibodeau’s credit, the Knicks were in elite company offensively, overall, and above average defensively.
Looking at the present, Mike Brown’s 2025 Knicks are absolutely dominating across the board. The Knicks rank seriously well in offensive rating (OffRTG: 122.7, 3rd of 30), defensive rating (DefRTG: 113.9, 9th of 30), and net rating (NetRTG: +8.8, 4th of 30).
New York has seen quality increases across the board, most notably on defense — a jump from 14th to 9th in the NBA defensively is nothing to scoff at. Mike Brown is playing his cards right.
Can Mike Brown Break the Conference Finals Curse?
Last season, the Knicks came tantalizingly close to making the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. New York fell to the Indiana Pacers in a devastating 4–2 series loss. The Knicks struggled mightily throughout the six games to limit Indiana’s offense.
Now, with a renewed defensive mindset and philosophy, along with clear improvements across the board, the Knicks look to be a serious threat under Mike Brown. He has already proven to be a positive addition to the organization.
Every indicator hints that led by Brown, this group could finally push past the Conference Finals ceiling and end New York’s long wait for an NBA championship.
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