The New York Knicks have a new head coach for the 2025-26 NBA season after the front office parted ways with Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks’ management replaced Thibs, who had been their head coach since 2020, with Mike Brown. The new coach was let go by the Sacramento Kings last season after an abysmal 13-18 start to their 2024-25 campaign.
The Knicks expect Brown to have a better impact than Thibs and potentially lead them to a championship. Last season, New York was close to making it to the NBA Finals. However, they came up short when they faced the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. It was the first time since 2000 that the Knicks were featured in the conference finals.
With a new head coach, it’s expected that things will be different for the Knicks. Brown discussed how he would use a deeper rotation, something Thibs didn’t do, during the team’s media day on Tuesday. In fact, it was one of his biggest criticisms since taking over the position.
“If you’re looking at what I’ve done in the past, choosing nine and a half to ten guys,” Brown said. “I try to play as many guys as I can, man.”
Brown on how deep he'd be willing to go with rotation: "If you look at what I've done in the past, it's usually 9.5, 10 guys."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) September 23, 2025
Brown also explained that the New York Knicks will play faster next season. According to the new head coach, he wants the team to be fast-paced and maximize the floor space.
“We want to play fast…floor spaced…a certain cadence in the halfcourt,” he added. “Then, defensively, we want to be physical, we want people to feel us, we want to do so without fouling.”
Josh Hart had jokes about the New York Knicks’ starting lineup
There are a few questions about how the New York Knicks’ starting lineup will look. They have two All-Stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Both players are guaranteed to have starting spots. After that, Mikal Bridges secures the second guard spot and OG Anunoby can occupy one of the forward spots, depending on who the fifth starter is.
If Josh Hart is part of the starting five, he’ll likely be the small forward in the Knicks’ lineup. However, some have suggested that they should move Towns to the power forward spot and have Mitchell Robinson as the team’s center.
When this situation was brought up during their media day, Hart joked that he’d request to be traded.
“If I don’t start, I’ll probably ask for a trade,” Hart joked.
“I think I’m a starter in the league. I think I deserve to be a starter in the league, but at the end of the day it’s what’s best for the team.”
Having Hart in the starting lineup would be a better approach if Brown wants the team to play faster. Having two big men in the lineup might contradict his plans for the Knicks.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
