Mike Brown’s friendly postgame hug with Draymond Green reportedly didn’t sit well with his New York Knicks players.
The optics made it even worse, as the Knicks had just dropped their seventh loss in nine games to Golden State, 126-113, and their coach was adoring the enemy.
It happened during the game itself when Green was barking at officials. Brown interrupted his former player mid-rant. Green immediately apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, Mike B,” before hugging his old coach. After the final buzzer, more embraces followed. Now, an NBA insider confirms that Knicks players are not happy about that hug moment.
Knicks Players Reportedly Not Happy After Coach Mike Brown Hugs Draymond Green
Green drew the ire of Knicks players during the game after he committed a dangerous foul on Karl-Anthony Towns. The Warriors star was hit with a flagrant foul for grabbing Towns by the leg as the center drove past him. KAT nearly got injured on the play but then Brown started the lovefest.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne dropped the truth bomb Tuesday on NBA Today, revealing exactly why the hug didn’t fly with New York’s locker room.
“Mike Brown knows that. After the game, Draymond tripped KAT. There was a foul called there,” Shelburne said. “Afterwards, Mike was seen hugging Draymond Green and yukking it up. Now listen, they won three titles together. To me that seems like not a big deal. But I’ll tell you this—from what I understand, that didn’t land well. This hug did not land well with a lot of folks there in New York.”
She continued, “I think in that locker room or even in the organization, while you can understand why he might have a bond with Draymond Green, I don’t think that landed well, especially in the middle of a losing streak for a guy who has not been as much a part of the offense.”
People within the Knicks aren’t happy that Mike Brown hugged Draymond Green after a game in which Draymond committed a flagrant foul on Karl-Anthony Towns, per @ramonashelburne
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 20, 2026
Everyone in this generation and even people from past generations know Brown served as the Warriors’ associate head coach from 2016 to 2022, winning three NBA titles with the team. That history is enough to justify the hug, but wrong timing throws a hard rock inside the Knicks’ locker room.
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Ian Begley reported that players haven’t fully bought into their roles under Brown’s system. Jalen Brunson then called a players-only meeting, telling teammates they needed to figure things out themselves instead of relying on the coaching staff.
Unfortunately, the warm hug between old friends became a symbol of everything wrong. Players questioned Brown’s priorities, and the franchise questioned his judgment. Meanwhile, the community? They questioned everything about this disaster of a January.
