Coach Mike Brown takes a shot at Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby as the reigning champion Knicks prepare to begin their first title defense in 53 years:
Q: What will be going through your heart and mind during the ring ceremony and the raising of the banner on Tuesday night?
A: Obviously I’m going to be filled with a lot of different emotions. That’s a special moment. I’m going to be a little selfish, but for me individually, not only that, for my family, for the people in the organization, the team, the players, the other coaches, but just as importantly, the city of New York and the fans of the Knicks all around the world … so to see that happening while knowing the history of it, and knowing how hard it is to let alone get there on top of winning it, it’s going to be an awesome feeling with a ton of emotion inside. We’re all human, the trick is now to really appreciate and enjoy that moment and still try to lock in and get ready for the game and know you got to move forward once it’s over.
Q: What is the challenge of defending a championship?
A: There are a lot of challenges in trying to do that. That’s why it hasn’t happened in the NBA in the last eight, nine years. In all of sports, you don’t hear a ton about back-to-back champions in the modern sports world no matter what sport it is you’re playing. The added quote, unquote pressure that some people may allow to seep in as the year goes on, there could be more jealousies, that the team is not connected, and people forget about sacrificing for the betterment of the team. Everybody has naturally been telling you how great you are the whole summer, and so you think you’re great, and you don’t have to go through and/or embrace the process like you did when you got there the first time because you think you know and it’s just going to happen in moments when you think it needs to happen. There’s a lot that can impact it.
And for me, the biggest thing is trying to make sure our group understands that this is a new season, it’s a new team, and there are new challenges in front of us. Therefore, it’s not about the end result, we have to really make sure we focus our energy and effort on the process, by embracing all the details of the process. And if we do, that’s going to give us our best opportunity to do it again.
Q: Knowing your guys as you do, how will they approach being The Hunted?
A: That’s another one, everybody likes to play the Knicks anyway, especially in MSG, and now it’s just an added carrot to the whole deal. We have a mature group, and that’s one of the main things that gives me — I don’t know if hope is the right word — but gives me hope that we’re going to take this or embrace this process like no other. I truly believe that the maturity of the group is going to help when it comes to all of it, not just being The Hunted, but handling being patted on the back all year, and media scrutiny that we’re going to be under and pressures of the other things that we’re going to be under. I think that’s what’s going to help a ton.
Q: What did you take from Steve Kerr when you guys were defending your championship with the Warriors?
A: Steve was great about the process. What I mean is you can overdo it as a coach. Like you can pound, pound, pound, pound, pound, pound, pound all the time because you want guys to continue working hard. You want guys to embrace all the little things. You could keep them an extra 15 minutes longer, you could watch an extra five minutes of film, you could do things like that to make sure you don’t get off track with our focus, our energy and our effort in making sure we don’t skip any steps along the way or have any slippage in the process along the way. And that might be too much. So there’s a fine line to where OK, you know what, it might be OK to lose this game during the regular season, because it’s better to lose this game now and learn from it than to press and want to win every time you stepped on the floor. And now, that type of pressure that you’re living under all year has catastrophic or bad results come playoff time.
When they won it the first time (2014-15), that next year they really pressed to have a great regular season and they ended up I think winning 73 games. And when they got to the Finals, they basically were gassed out. Same with the Dallas Mavericks, the following year they were the No. 1 seed, Golden State was the No. 8 seed and they lost in the first round. We pressed so hard to be perfect every single day that by the time the playoffs came, we gassed out. Learning from Steve that yes, you got to coach them. Yes you got to hold them accountable, but some things don’t have to be accomplished that day, even if it means taking a loss that day. You just say, “Hey, this is where we are today, we accept it, we know we got to get better, and we got to come back and fight hopefully a little bit harder tomorrow.”
Q: How would you describe your leadership style?
A: Kenneth Chenault was the third African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and it was American Express. His definition of leadership is to give your group hope while always defining reality. So I’m a guy that likes to try to uplift the group but at the end of the day. I have to keep it real with everybody. And I can’t sell any false narratives to any individual and/or the team. Meaning if we’re doing well, yes, let everybody know, first and foremost. But if we’re not, no matter who you are, whether you’re Jalen [Brunson], KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns], OG [Anunoby], Pac [Pacôme Dadiet], Mo [Mohamed Diawara], Tyler Nickel, I’m going to let you know. And then on top of that, I truly believe in ownership of the process, not just with my players, but from my staff as well, everybody in this organization, because it’s not about me and my thoughts, everybody can always grow. It’s about the collective to try to figure out the best possible solution.
Q: In your offseason self-scout, what do you have to do to be a better coach than you were last year?
A: I’m a driver. When I was real young, I rose up pretty quick because I worked my tail off, I was extremely detailed, probably overly detailed, but if I had a plan, you best believe we were going to get through the plan, and I found a way to bring energy to the group, even if it was monotonous and boring. My whole thing this year is trying to find that line of keeping us on track, but not pushing too hard so we don’t gas out … even Jay Wright, they won a championship at Villonova and then there was a gap year when they didn’t win it, and he felt that gap year was because he tried to press the team too hard to be perfect, and they fizzled out at the end because of it. So trying to find that balance is my biggest thought process for me coaching this team going into this year.
Q: Did you speak with other coaches in any sport about defending a championship?
A: Yes. I’m not going to get into who because I even spoke to some competitors, and everybody was really friendly.
Q: Short answers: What is Jalen Brunson’s superpower?
A: His focus and determination.
Q: What is OG’s superpower?
A: His potential with his size and athletic and skillset.
Q: What is KAT’s superpower?
A: His skillset and his size.
Q: What is Mikal Bridges’ superpower?
A: His versatility.
Q: What is Josh Hart’s superpower?
A: His ability to connect the group, with sacrifice and determination.
Q: How do you feel about your bench?
A: I’m excited about it. I’m looking forward to giving guys an opportunity that they might not have gotten before.
Q: Are you optimistic that you can compensate for the loss of Mitchell Robinson (Celtics)?
A: I talked to our guys about this. When I was in Golden State, we had a really good team the year we won back-to-back (2017 and 2018) and KD [Kevin Durant] left after that [after the 2019 season] and everybody thought that, rightfully so, we were going to go into the tank, because you can’t replace KD with one player. In 2022, we won it again, we basically had the same core minus KD. We replaced him basically with a young Jordan Poole, Otto Porter and Andrew Wiggins. And collectively, those three guys plus the rest of the group just brought a little bit more to the table, and we were able to get it done in 2022. So it’s no different with Mitch. Mitch is a great player. We’re not bringing Andre [Drummond] in here to quote, unquote be Mitch. Andre’s going to be Andre, but that means everybody else has to give a little bit more defensively, and has to give a little bit more when it comes to offensive and defensive rebounding,
Q: What did you learn about how New York and New York City embraces its champions over the offseason?
A: It’s like no other. This is my fifth championship that I’ve been a part of in some really good cities. But to experience it in New York, the raw emotions that people approach you with is unbelievable. And then, as they’re telling their story, to feel the passion and the joy, but most importantly the pride of it all is unbelievable. They’re so prideful, so passionate, so grateful for it that they literally want to give you the shirts off their back.
Q: What was it like getting a standing ovation when you walked into the Polo Club?
A: It was surreal, phenomenal. I didn’t know what to do. First of all when you walk in, there’s a bar area upstairs and everybody behind the bar was great, they were like, “Coach, Coach,” give me five and all that. Then when I walked down the stairs into the restaurant, it’s a nice-size restaurant, everybody is into their own world with whoever they’re there with, and then all of a sudden, they start clapping — everybody stops eating, everybody’s standing up and looking at you. It was the funkiest, most unreal, surreal experience ever. I wanted to kind of back up and hide a little bit (chuckle) because I didn’t know what to do (laugh). I just kind of waved and kind of mouthed the words thank you. That was very overwhelming, for sure.
Q: Did you have to pay for any meals in the offseason?
A: There is one, I won’t call the restaurant out, there definitely is one. I go into the restaurant, I’m with my stepson, and I took a few pictures with people in there, and then one of the employees comes over and says it’s either the owner or the manager wanted to know if you would take a picture with the employees over on the other side of the restaurant. I just thought it was a place out of the way of the rest of the people eating there. So I get done, I pay … good food, good service. So she goes, “Hey, let’s take it over here.” And so we slide over and we’re right in front of her signage — “Coach, you hop right in the middle of the sign and we’ll have all the employees.” I said, “Are you going to post this?” And she goes, “Yes!” I was kind of like busting her chops a little bit. I go, “So you’re going to post this, and use it for free advertising, but I had to pay for my food!” Her employees, they almost fell out of their seat. I felt bad — some of them were laughing so hard I was worried that they were going to get fired. “I’m joking, I’m just messing with ya, I’ll take the picture.” And so I ended up taking the picture. I don’t know if she posted it or not, but she said she was going to. That one I did pay for my meal. That might have been the first and only one all summer.
Q: Three dinner guests.
A: Martin Luther King, just in terms of hearing his story first hand from his mouth what he experienced because I can’t imagine the things that he went through and the daily struggles that he had to have just to keep a movement going. Sometimes in the coaching world, you get tired (laugh) of the stuff that you have to go through on a daily basis, and you feel like just going and sitting in a room by yourself and hiding, you know? I can’t imagine the weight that he had on his shoulders of trying to lead that movement during that time. … There’s just a ton of different people from musicians to actors, too.
Q: Favorite meal.
A: I’m a huge Mexican food guy. A couple of good authentic carne asada tacos and/or burritos.
Q: What was the most electric you heard the Garden last year?
A: I think [epic comeback win from 29-point deficit] Game 4. There were some other huge games during the regular season that were pretty electric. If there was one thing that I wish I would have done last year, I wish I would have had a chance to go back out and just listen and look at everybody in the Garden. I had heard that people stayed in the Garden another 30-to-45 minutes after the game was over high-fiving, and singing and all that other stuff. I wish I would have been able to go back out and see that.
Q: Your message to Knicks fans.
A: Love you guys, love your energy. Keep bringing it, because we’re looking forward to having another fun year.