Knicks Notes: Brown, Brunson, Jent, Robinson
It was less than two years ago that Mike Brown was fired by the Kings after Sacramento got off to a poor start in 2024/25. Now he is the coach who brought the Larry O’Brien trophy back to New York.
“He understands what it is to be a champion,” Knicks star and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson said of his head coach, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “He understands how to build a team, how to build habits that will put you in this position. And we’re so grateful, so thankful to have him at the top. He kept us even so many times. He’s brought the best out of us as people first, and, man, I’m so happy for him. He’s the reason why we’re (champions).”
In addition to being a two-time Coach of the Year, Brown can now boast five championship rings, four of which came as an assistant. He made the right decisions and pressed the right buttons throughout the Knicks’ miraculous 16-3 playoff run.
“He’s done a great job of adjusting our team to give us the best chance to win,” said Karl-Anthony Towns after Game 4. “The spot we’re in now is because of his courage and trust to change what we were doing and put us in a better position.”
Brown’s performance as the Knicks’ coach is particularly noteworthy, given that he didn’t appear to be the team’s first choice after firing Tom Thibodeau last summer, Tim Reynolds writes for The Associated Press. Whether or not he was the preferred candidate, he showed that he was the best option with his poise, personality, and commitment to excellence.
One of Brown’s notable decisions was to meet with his five starters before the playoffs began, both individually and then as a group, and let them air any grievances they might have with how the season had gone, Justin Tasch writes for the New York Post. Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson, said that the meetings “were pivotal to New York’s playoff success.”
We have more Knicks news and notes:
- Brunson is shorter than 95% of the NBA, Stefan Bondy writes for the New York Post, but his heart and his fight ensured he’ll go down as a Knicks legend. His Game 5 performance, in which he scored 45 of the team’s 94 points, was a masterpiece in which every point was crucial to closing out the series without any possibility of a Spurs comeback. “It’s everything I dreamed of,” Brunson said after the game. “It’s why I came to New York.” Brunson bet on himself when he left the Mavericks and Luka Doncic to run his own team, but he also bet on the Knicks when he took a substantial pay cut to give president Leon Rose the necessary flexibility to fill out the roster as Rose saw fit, Reynolds writes. Rose rewarded that faith by bringing in players Brunson trusted and who could complement his skill set in the right ways.
- Brown made sure his coaching staff earned its share of credit for the championship run, shouting out one specific assistant as being an indispensable part of his team. “There are a lot of jobs open out there. Chris Jent, my associate head coach, I’m surprised has not gotten an interview,” Brown said after Game 5, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter video link). “He won the Summer League championship this past summer, he’s our offensive coordinator, associate head coach. He’s been around for a long time. Someone needs to give him an interview because he will help your team win at the highest level.”
- The longest-tenured Knick made perhaps the biggest play of his career in fitting fashion at the end of Game 5, Zach Braziller writes for the Post. Mitchell Robinson, playing 20 minutes while Towns dealt with foul trouble, grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 22 seconds to go and kicked it out to OG Anunoby, who hit one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game. It was the exact type of play that made him such a critical part of the Knicks’ identity throughout the season. Robinson grinded out extra possessions and found teammates on kick-outs, supercharging the team’s offense when it started to bog down. Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick, is the only player left from his 17-win rookie season, and despite playing with a broken hand, he came up clutch when it mattered the most, battling Victor Wembanyama for rebounds and hauling in the biggest one of the night. He responded to the accomplishment in his typical lighthearted fashion. “Yesterday, at the hotel, I caught a snake. Again,” he said. “You know I caught a snake in the beginning of the playoffs when we played Atlanta. We won, and I caught one last night and we won today. I think it’s something about snakes.”
Knicks Win First Championship Since 1973; Brunson Named MVP
For the first time in 53 years, New York has an NBA title to celebrate. The Knicks finished off a thrilling NBA Finals with a 94-90 win Saturday night in San Antonio.
Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP, wrapping up the series with 45 points in Game 5. He was overwhelmed by the moment in a post-game interview on ABC (Twitter video link), taking a long time to compose himself before calling it “everything I ever dreamed of.”
With a huge contingent of Knicks fans cheering them on after making the trip to San Antonio, Brunson said the championship is “the reason I came to New York” as he accepted the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award.
Head coach Mike Brown thanked owner James Dolan and team president Leon Rose before giving a shout-out to New York fans for their support. Sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes that the Knicks plan to fly back to New York City tonight to continue their celebration (Twitter link). Dolan implored New Yorkers to be safe and said the championship parade will be held on Thursday (Twitter link via Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints).
Saturday’s game followed a familiar pattern as San Antonio built a large early lead before the Knicks began to chip away. New York scored just 13 points in the first quarter as the Spurs flashed a dominant defense built around Victor Wembanyama patrolling the paint. San Antonio kept the lead for most of the game, but the Knicks put together another late rally led by Brunson, who finished 14-of-27 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
Mikal Bridges (14 points), Josh Hart (13) and OG Anunoby (11) were the only other Knicks players to hit double figures, but Brunson made plenty of big shots with the game in the balance. It was a difficult night for Karl-Anthony Towns, who was in foul trouble all game and finished with two points and 10 rebounds in less than 23 minutes.
Rookie guard Dylan Harper carried the offensive load for the Spurs, posting 25 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes off the bench. Wembanyama contributed 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the loss, per Siegel (Twitter link). “The better team won. We did a lot of good things, and we didn’t finish the job. That’s what it is.”
Even though the series lasted just five games, it will go down as one of the most competitive in NBA Finals history, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York outscored San Antonio by just 12 total points, which is tied for the closest Finals ever that went five or fewer games.
The Knicks also set a record with the longest drought between championships, notes Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), breaking the old mark of 50 years held by Milwaukee (1971-2021).
The long-awaited title is the result of several gutsy moves by Rose and the front office, states Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Rose made the decision a year ago to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau, who had just taken the team to the conference finals, and replace him with Brown, who was dismissed by Sacramento in the middle of last season.
Rose’s transformation of the Knicks from a perennial loser to a title contender began with the 2022 signing of Brunson in free agency, but it also included ambitious trades that brought in Anunoby, Hart, Towns and Bridges, as well as smaller moves to pick up Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado.
“I found a home in New York,” Hart said during the post-game celebration (Twitter link from James L. Edwards of The Athletic). “They embrace for who I am, and I’m not perfect.”
As always, the end of the NBA Finals marks the beginning of the league’s offseason. Starting Sunday, teams will be permitted to negotiate with their own free agents and extension-eligible players — contract agreements reached before the end of the month with those players can be officially finalized in July. Trade restrictions are also lifted, as all 30 teams are now able to make deals.
The major decision for New York in its quest to repeat will be how to handle Mitchell Robinson as he approaches unrestricted free agency. Robinson is the longest-tenured Knick and an indispensable part of the second unit, but the team already has a very expensive roster in place. Jordan Clarkson and Shamet will also be unrestricted free agents, while Alvarado holds a $4.5MM player option.
The Spurs’ roster is more stable as most of their rotation is on low-cost rookie deals. Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson will all be extension-eligible this summer, as will Julian Champagnie, whose contract includes a $3MM team option for next season. It will be interesting to see whether San Antonio decides to explore trade opportunities involving De’Aaron Fox, who suffered through a difficult Finals and has a four-year, maximum-salary extension that’s about to kick in. That contract is worth a projected $221.76MM.
The Spurs and Thunder are listed as the early co-favorites for next year’s title by DraftKings, relays Bill Speros of The Boston Herald (Twitter link).
Knicks’ Mike Brown Calls Out Officiating After Game 3 Loss
After his team suffered a 115-111 loss at Madison Square Garden on Monday to cut its lead in the NBA Finals to 2-1, Knicks head coach Mike Brown expressed displeasure during his post-game press conference about the free throw disparity between the two teams.
The Spurs attempted 32 total free throws to the Knicks’ 22. In the second half, the gap was even more pronounced, with San Antonio going to the line 24 times while New York was awarded just eight free throws.
“I never thought I’d be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight,” Brown said (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). “I don’t think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts. San Antonio is a great team. It’s going to lower our odds big time if we play Game 4 and in the second half they get 24 free throw attempts to our eight. Maybe we were fouling, but they fouled too.”
As Vincent Goodwill of ESPN observes, Brown brought up the officiating multiple times while speaking to reporters after the game. Presumably, the Knicks’ coach believes that making it part of the conversation about the game could result in a more favorable whistle on Wednesday in Game 4.
“I talked to [the officials]. They outshot us 14-3 in the third quarter from the free throw line. I talked to them, and they said, ‘Well, this is a foul, this is a foul,'” Brown said. “That’s the question I had with them is, ‘You’re right. Maybe we did foul. But they fouled, too.'”
Although Brown griped about the officiating, his players weren’t inclined to blame the referees for the loss. Knicks guard Landry Shamet suggested that the Spurs were the more physical and assertive team, while forward Josh Hart said San Antonio came out of the gates with “a sense of urgency and a sense of desperation.”
Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, meanwhile, said the Knicks’ turnovers were a bigger problem than how the game was called. New York committed 13 turnovers that led to 21 points while San Antonio turned the ball over just eight times, leading to seven points.
“I think we turned the ball over a lot, first and foremost, and also we were fouling a lot and put them at the line about 30 times,” Brunson said, per Goodwill. “With our live ball turnovers, got them out in transition.”
“(The officiating) didn’t cost us the game,” Towns added, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game.”
Knicks Notes: Game 3, Egoless Approach, Brunson, Brown, Shamet
The Knicks won’t just be fighting the Spurs heading into Game 3 of the Finals — they’ll have to fight off complacency, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post opines.
After winning two road games to put the Spurs in a huge hole, the Knicks can’t afford to ease up despite playing the next two games at home.
“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned. Being up 2-0 means really nothing,” Josh Hart said. “The Spurs are going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- On a team filled with high-priced players, egos have not been a factor. In fact, pushing those egos aside has put them on the brink of a championship, Fred Katz of The Athletic writes. “You work on connectivity throughout the course of the year for moments like these,” coach Mike Brown said. “And no matter what run (the Spurs) went on, no matter what time of the game, our guys just kept uplifting one another, not just the guys on the floor but the guys on the bench.”
- While the odds are stacked in the Knicks’ favor now, Jalen Brunson is taking nothing for granted, Zach Braziller of the New York Post relays. “In my mind there’s nothing really to celebrate yet,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
- The team can’t wait to have a home game in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years. “The Garden is going to be rocking,” Hart said, per Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News. “Obviously, in this city we love our Knicks. So we’re going to come out, show love, support. The energy is going to be electric.”
- Former coach Tom Thibodeau was often criticized for riding his starters too long. ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill details how Brown came in with the intent of getting more out of the reserves. Goodwill also details how Brown lobbied the front office to re-sign Landry Shamet. “I thought Landry could be impactful,” Brown said. “He signed late because his agent convinced him to do that. Hopefully, it won’t happen going forward. I said, ‘Hey, I want you here. I’m sorry about the way the circumstances are contractually. I have nothing to do [with] that. I believe you can help us on both ends of the floor.'”
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Towns, Brown, NBA Finals
It was family connections that brought Jalen Brunson to the Knicks in 2022, more than the money or the chance to play in the NBA’s biggest city, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN writes in a lengthy profile of the All-Star guard. Brunson had deep connections to team president Leon Rose, who had served as an agent for both him and his father, Rick, and worked hard to get the elder Brunson a job in the NBA after his playing career ended. When the Knicks hired Rick as an assistant coach shortly before Brunson hit free agency, the deal was virtually sealed.
“I think Jalen had a loyalty to the Mavs because they’d drafted him, but the Knicks were his actual family,” a Mavericks source told Shelburne. “I don’t think we fully grasped that.”
Former Dallas general manager Donnie Nelson was thrilled to land Brunson in the second round in 2018 and team him with the Mavs’ other draft prize, Slovenian guard Luka Doncic. Both became rotation players right away, but Doncic showed immediate signs of stardom and their defensive liabilities raised questions about whether they could play together.
With the chance to offer Brunson an extension in the summer of 2021, the Mavs told him that they wanted to further evaluate the fit of the roster, according to Shelburne, who adds that they were also determining whether they could afford to keep Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith. Brunson reportedly told Dallas officials the following January that he would agree to an extension if it was offered then, but the Mavericks preferred to keep their options open if they had the chance to trade for a star, and an extension would have taken Brunson off the market. They made identical offers to Brunson and Finney-Smith after the deadline passed, but Brunson turned his down.
With free agency looming, the Knicks began clearing cap space on draft day with Brunson as their obvious target. The four-year, $104MM deal they ultimately gave Brunson was ridiculed by some as an overpay, but it turned out to be a huge bargain. Brunson became a star in New York and is on the verge of giving the city its first NBA title in 53 years.
“He’s comfortable there,” former Knick Jamal Crawford said. “They empowered him. They believed in him. He’s got guys on the team from Villanova that he knows and who fit his play style. He’s got his dad on the bench who knows exactly what buttons to push to get him going. He knows Leon. So with that comfortability, I think you’re going to get the best of him.”
There’s more from New York City:
- Karl-Anthony Towns‘ ability to alter his game in the midst of the playoffs has made the Knicks a more dangerous team, Steve Popper of Newsday notes in a subscriber-only story. After months of clashing with first-year head coach Mike Brown over his role in the offense, Towns accepted Brown’s vision when the team faced a 2-1 deficit against Atlanta in the first round. “It’s about impacting winning,” Towns said. “Especially this year throughout the year, I’ve always had to change my role for the betterment of the team. I’ve always had to change the way I play so it could be most beneficial for the team.”
- The Knicks began their coaching search last summer by calling several teams to ask about the status of their incumbent coaches, recalls James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. When Chicago, Houston, Dallas and others refused to grant permission for an interview, New York turned to Brown, who wound up being the perfect candidate and wasn’t bothered that he wasn’t the team’s first choice.
- Five Athletic writers discuss whether Towns is headed for Finals MVP honors and several other topics in a roundtable about the championship series.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brunson, Bench, Sprays
Karl-Anthony Towns has arguably been the best player on the floor through two Finals games, and it’s not just Knicks fans who are appreciating his stellar play.
Many Timberwolves fans have been following the former No. 1 overall pick from Minnesota, not with bitterness at the success he’s experiencing far removed from the team that drafted him, but with joy for a player and personality they came to love during his nine years with the Wolves, Jon Krawczynski writes for The Athletic.
Towns, the player, has long been criticized, whether for his defensive limitations, his losing years in Minnesota, or even the way he carries himself. Meanwhile, Towns, the person, has built a reputation as one of the genuinely good people in the league.
“Towns has taught me so much about dealing with the loss of my mom two years ago,” one Wolves fan told Krawczynski. “He also donated $5,000 to my mom’s GoFundMe when she was battling pancreatic cancer. He is a great human. Me and my family will forever root for this man. So happy for him.”
Now, the Minnesota fan base has come together to watch Towns, the player, play the best basketball of his life, and be lauded by many of the same people who once criticized him. His composed, disciplined defense on Victor Wembanyama has been possibly the most important aspect of the Knicks’ play through two games, and he has carried the team through stretches when it needs a go-to scorer.
It hasn’t been easy to reach this level. It’s taken a mid-career transformation to address the inconsistencies in his game that came about at the most important stage of his career, Steve Popper writes for Newsday (subscriber link).
“Taking all that experience this year, I’ve had to do it on the fly. It wasn’t like game by game. It’s been quarter by quarter. That comes with experience and just knowledge of the game and just time. Time playing the game, time putting shots up, time reading defenses, seeing defenses, offenses,” Towns said. “One game Jalen [Brunson] got hurt, that’s when I have to be a primary scorer. Other games when he’s cooking, I’ve got to be a facilitator, a hub, assist maker, aggressive in play-making. Then there’s games when I need to do both when he’s in and I’m in and be able to do both when his shot is warming up. There’s also days where I got to be a decoy, I got to be the best screener, I got to be the best spacer for our offense. So I think that right now, whatever it takes to win, especially when you’re in the NBA Finals, I’m willing to do.“
We have more Knicks news and notes:
- Brunson had a simple response when asked by a reporter what teams missed when they allowed him to fall to 33rd overall in the 2018 draft: “Everything,” he said with a laugh (Twitter video link via SNY Knicks). The three-time All-NBA guard has struggled to find his scoring rhythm against the Spurs’ elite backcourt defense, shooting just 33.9% from the field and 23.5% from three with a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. But, true to form, he has found ways to contribute in the biggest moments, hitting clutch shots to seal both games and collecting five steals in Game 2.
- Coming into this season, much of the focus on the hiring of Mike Brown revolved around how he could better empower the Knicks’ bench so that the team didn’t break down in the playoffs. As the Knicks look to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, the second unit has provided a constant boost for Brown’s team, Vincent Goodwill writes for ESPN. Landry Shamet, the last player signed to the Knicks roster in the offseason, has become a critical part of the rotation. Mitchell Robinson has been a strong defensive presence against Wembanyama, despite playing through a broken bone in his hand. Jose Alvarado, acquired at the trade deadline, provided a huge boost for the team in Game 1 when Brunson went to the locker room with an apparent knee injury. It took all season to find the right balance, but it’s come together at the right time. “One of the many things I learned from [Gregg Popovich] and [Steve Kerr]. Steve was really good at trying to play a lot of different guys,” Brown said. “Not only that, a guy that hadn’t been in the rotation for a while, one game [a coach] might throw him out there as a starter. That kept guys engaged or on their toes.”
- A key bit of vocabulary needed to understand the Knicks’ success against the Spurs is the word “spray,” according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Sprays, or kick-outs from inside the paint to shooters outside the three-point line, are a critical part of Brown’s offensive ideology, whether off a Robinson offensive rebound or a Brunson drive to the paint. No play better embodied the concept than a sequence in the second quarter where four different Knicks penetrated off a pass, sprayed to a shooter, and the team ultimately got an open three to beat the shot clock. This movement is critical in terms of getting Wembanyama in motion and not allowing him to set up in a position to provide easy help, but it requires players ready to make quick decisions: either drive, pass, or shoot. “We have to try to keep touching the paint, trying to spray it if Wemby comes,” Brown said. “If you’re open, let it fly.”
Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Castle, Knicks Defense, Popovich
The ending of Game 2 of the Finals was chaotic and unpredictable, as the Spurs watched a golden opportunity to tie the series at one game apiece slip away.
Victor Wembanyama knows he bailed the Knicks out of the game, between his costly late-game turnover and back-to-back missed perimeter jumpers to take the lead in the final minute. The Knicks know it too, and they’re aware they can’t expect the same luck next time, Kristian Winfield writes for the New York Daily News.
“You can’t do that to the team that is that good, give chances like that,” Mikal Bridges said. “We got to be way better.”
As for Wembanyama, he’s undaunted by the 2-0 hole his team faces heading into New York, embracing the challenge of trying to overcome that deficit as part of the Spurs’ “journey,” Michael C. Wright writes for ESPN.
“This is everything that I wished for,” he said. “There’s really no reason to overthink it. This is what I’m built for.”
He is determined to take the right things away from his first two Finals games, even if they didn’t go the way he wanted.
“It felt like we did a lot of things wrong, but we were also relentless and kept pushing, but kind of wasted that effort,” Wembanyama said. “I know it’s not wasted because our lessons are learned. I know we’re not going to make the mistakes of the past again. But in a moment like this, we need to make these things matter.”
We have more from the Spurs:
- Stephon Castle sat out much of the fourth quarter of Game 2 after landing on Bridges’ foot while coming down from a jumper. He’s not worried about it going into Game 3, Peter Sblendorio writes for the Daily News. “It feels a lot better than I thought it would initially. Obviously, I had some adrenaline running, [and] kind of once I settled down, I started to feel it,” Castle said. “Waking up the next day, actually felt really good.” Castle’s defense has been a critical part of the Spurs’ efforts to slow down Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson, who has shot just 2-of-10 with Castle as his primary defender during this series. The Spurs are entering Monday with no one on the injury report, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News notes (via Twitter).
- One thing the Spurs will have to figure out to get back into this series is how to deal with the Knicks’ defensive scheme, Howie Kussoy writes for the New York Post. Karl-Anthony Towns‘ combination of size and mobility has made it difficult for Wembanyama to get to his spots comfortably, though the Spurs’ big man has still managed to put up impressive box score numbers. “It’s very different from [the] previous series,” Wembanyama said after Game 2. “It’s bringing us into difficult areas because they’re good players. [Towns is] a good player… We need to put ourselves in better [positions]. We’re digging ourselves a hole. That’s been the theme so far.”
- Knicks coach Mike Brown has multiple connections to the Spurs, including spending two-and-a-half years as De’Aaron Fox‘s head coach in Sacramento. But his ties go back further, to the three years he spent from 2000-03 as an assistant coach under Spurs legend Gregg Popovich. However, a simple reason prevented Brown from reaching out to Popovich coming into the Finals series, according to Melissa Rohlin of the New York Post. “He’s savvy,” Brown said, tongue-in-cheek. “He’s very competitive. If I reached out to him and asked him for some advice, he’d give me some BS that worked against us.” Brown credited Popovich for teaching him the value of a coach connecting with not just the players on the roster, but the rest of the organization and the city as a whole. ““He’s second to none [in] how he treats people off the floor in their personal lives,” the Knicks’ said. “I grew a lot personally. Everybody goes through good times and bad times off the floor in their personal life. When I was here, I went through good times and bad times. He helped me tremendously with those.”
NBA Finals Notes: Brown, Court Design, Refs, More
Knicks head coach Mike Brown has won four NBA championships as an assistant coach, including one in San Antonio (2003) and three in Golden State (2017, 2018, and 2022). But Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who had Brown on his staff for six seasons before he left for Sacramento, would be very happy to see his former assistant earn his first title as a head coach.
“I’d be thrilled for him,” Kerr told Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “He’s a great friend, he was a wonderful assistant coach and helped us win multiple titles here. I’d love to see him win one. The problem for me is I’d also love to see the Spurs win another one because I’ve got a lot of friends there, too. I’ve got people on both sides of this one. But it would mean an awful lot to see Mike win one, for sure.”
Kerr described Brown as “much more organized and detailed than I am” and lauded him for his consistently positive attitude. He also pointed out that Brown’s lengthy NBA résumé and wide range of experiences during his time as a coach made him an ideal fit for a coaching job that came with a Finals-or-bust mandate in year one.
“I think anybody who understands the value of experience takes from that experience and applies it to the next position, and that’s what he’s done, ” Kerr said. “… He was clearly the right guy for the job, for that reason. He’s handled everything well. It hasn’t always been smooth, but they’re there. And he helped guide them there. And it’s been fun to watch.”
Here’s more on the NBA Finals, which will top off this Wednesday in San Antonio:
- The NBA formally confirmed on Sunday (via Twitter) that the image of the Larry O’Brien trophy and the script logo for “The Finals” will be returning to the Knicks’ and Spurs’ courts for this year’s NBA Finals. Fans have griped on social media in recent years about the absence of both iconic images, which were mainstays in the past, arguing that the biggest games of the year felt like regular season matchups without them.
- The 12 officials assigned to the Knicks/Spurs series include Tony Brothers and Marc Davis, who are each working the Finals for a 15th time, and Scott Foster, who is working his 19th Finals, the league announced today in a press release. Other Finals veterans who will be on the job for the series include James Capers (14th) and Zach Zarba (13th), while Curtis Blair is the lone first-timer in the group.
- Brian Mahoney and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press explore the paths that the Knicks and Spurs took to get to the NBA Finals, while Zach Kram of ESPN considers the storylines and matchups that will decide the series. Meanwhile, ESPN’s NBA insiders, Jared Weiss and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, and Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports shared their previews of the Finals.
- A number of current, future, and former NBA players have been added to the list of media members covering the NBA Finals. According to Danielle Lerner of USA Today, former Knicks guard Jeremy Lin will join ESPN’s coverage as an analyst and is set to appear on NBA Today and SportsCenter, among other programs. Meanwhile, the league announced its player correspondents for each of the first five games, including top prospects Caleb Wilson (Game 1) and AJ Dybantsa (Game 4), as well as rookie standouts Derik Queen (Game 2), Jeremiah Fears (Game 3), and Kon Knueppel (Game 5).
- Who will win the Finals? Vote in our poll here.
Knicks Notes: Sochan, Brown, Anunoby, Robinson
Jeremy Sochan hasn’t played much since signing with the Knicks, but his inside knowledge of the Spurs should be valuable heading into the NBA Finals, Jared Schwartz of The New York Post writes in a subscriber-only piece. Sochan was drafted by San Antonio in 2022 and remained with the team until he was waived in mid-February. New York scooped him up two days later and is now in position to take advantage of his familiarity with Victor Wembanyama and the rest of his former teammates.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen, and he works on it all the time, but he gets tired,” Sochan said of Wembanyama. “It’s natural, being that tall, he gets tired. With the team we have, I think it’s important to give him different looks and, not beat him up, but be very physical with him and make him run. And he’s gonna get tired and he’s gonna have to take some plays off, in my opinion.”
Sochan was a lottery pick coming out of college and was a starter for most of his first three years in the league, but he fell out of the Spurs’ rotation this season and eventually became expendable. He saw limited action in 16 games with the Knicks during the regular season and has made five brief appearances in the playoffs. His main role in the Finals figures to be as an advisor.
“Whether I’m playing or not, it’s important to feed all the information I have,” Sochan said. “And I think I know quite a lot. I’m watching their games now, I’m seeing the old plays we [ran], when they go up to certain people and at what times, it’s pretty obvious to see. It’s gonna be interesting.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- Head coach Mike Brown also has ties to San Antonio, having worked three years as an assistant to Gregg Popovich early in his career, notes Howie Kusoy of The New York Post. That connection hasn’t done anything to dull Brown’s competitiveness heading into the series. “They definitely want to beat me and I want to kick their ass,” Brown said. “You love ’em and you can always love ’em before and after … I got ties to San Antonio and you appreciate the people, you appreciate the journey and all that other stuff. But at the end of the day, just like they want to beat you, you definitely want to beat them.”
- OG Anunoby may be the Knicks’ best option to slow down Wembanyama, Kusoy adds in a separate story. Anunoby has allowed the fewest points per possession among anyone who has been the primary defender on the Spurs’ big man for at least 100 possessions, Kusoy states. “OG is an extremely versatile guard, and you know, the luxury of having a guy like that is he’s long enough, athletic enough, strong enough to guard quick, smaller guys, he’s obviously got the size and athleticism to guard big wings, and then he’s got the strength and the length and the intelligence to guard bigger guys,” Brown said. “So having a guy like that gives us a ton of versatility to be able to move him around, knowing that he can adapt, slash, adjust, or whatever you want to call it, on the fly.”
- Mitchell Robinson, whose status for Game 1 remains uncertain as he deals with a broken pinky finger, posted a message for his fans Saturday on Instagram, relays Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “I can’t thank you guys enough for the love and support most of you bring especially at a time like this in my life,” Robinson wrote. “It makes everything in fighting for 100x easier to deal with.”
Knicks Notes: Brown, McBride, Towns, NBA Finals
Mike Brown has seen a lot of ups and downs in his NBA career, being named Coach of the Year twice and getting fired four times. After his most recent dismissal by Sacramento in the middle of last season, Brown wasn’t sure if he would ever get another opportunity, so he began traveling with his wife instead of worrying about his future, Steve Popper of Newsday writes in a subscriber-only story.
The Browns ventured to Australia for a UFC event, followed by Mexico and the Caribbean before heading to New York. They had no idea at the time, but that’s where Brown would eventually return to coaching and lead his team to the brink of an NBA title.
“I just wanted to have fun, and if an opportunity came up, great,” he said. “If it didn’t, you know, shoot, I felt lucky, blessed, fortunate. I had a good run, you know? And I felt that at some point, I’d get another opportunity, whether it was a head coach or an assistant coaching position. So I just kind of rolled with it. Didn’t think much about it. And, you know, obviously, this opportunity came up. From afar, I just felt that this team was ready. And I’m just thrilled to death that (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan gave me an opportunity, and (team president) Leon Rose gave me an opportunity, to be a head coach again, especially here in New York.”
Popper states that Brown’s attitude helped him deal with the awkwardness of taking over a successful team, including lineup changes that didn’t always work and a new system that wasn’t warmly received by everyone. Brown and his players appear to have made it through the rough spots, and the Knicks have peaked during the playoffs as they tore through three Eastern Conference opponents.
“I truly felt that this team was an NBA Finals team, “Brown said after his team completed a sweep of Cleveland on Monday. “I thought we had a true opportunity. Because some jobs you take, you’re like, ‘OK, we can get better. We have a chance to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help them figure it out, and the players could stay together during the process, especially when we hit adversity. Because we hit adversity at different times during the season, not just us as a whole group, but even some guys individually, including myself. So, you know, I did have that belief from Day One. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but we’re here.”
There’s more from New York:
- Miles McBride admits there were “some tough, long nights” before he became a contributor on an NBA Finals team, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. A second-round pick in 2021, McBride endured losing and limited playing time early in his career before the Knicks traded two guards for OG Anunoby in December of 2023. That created an opportunity for McBride, but it came after he agreed to a three-year, $13MM extension that turned out to be a great bargain for the team. He’ll be eligible for another extension this summer and will likely get a new deal that better reflects his value to the organization.
- Karl-Anthony Towns‘ transformation in the playoffs has even impressed Draymond Green, who has a long-running rivalry with the Knicks center, relays Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “I’ve never seen Karl-Anthony Towns defend and be as engaged as he is on the defensive end,” Green said on Inside the NBA. “What we’ve seen for years, and this year some, is him get these dumb fouls. He’s not even doing that anymore.”
- John Hollinger of The Athletic looks at how the Knicks’ playoff dominance might translate to an NBA Finals matchup with Oklahoma City or San Antonio.