How Gregg Popovich helped Knicks Mike Brown arrive at this moment: A special human being
Even though Knicks coach Mike Brown earned some of his coaching chops as a Spurs assistant under Gregg Popovich from 2000-2003, he didn’t dare to reach out to him ahead of the NBA Finals.The fear? Sabotage.“He’s savvy,” Brown said before Game 1 against the Spurs.“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’s joke had Popovich’s fingerprints all over it.See, when you’re raised in Popovich’s coaching tree, certain values are emphasized above all others, namely humor.During Popovich’s 29 seasons at the helm of the Spurs, he wanted people around him who could laugh at themselves.He turned to humor to cut through the weighty pressure of 82-game marathon seasons.
Though he was fiercely competitive, he emphasized that basketball is just a silly game.He has been known to cut people from his staff who couldn’t dish or take a joke.Perhaps that’s why the partnership between Popovich and Brown worked.Brown is deeply likable.
He’s quick to laugh.He doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself.And now, after leading the Knicks to a 105-104 win over the Spurs in Game 2 on Friday, Brown is two wins from his first NBA championship as a head coach.It has been a long road for Brown, who has spent the last 29 years as either an assistant or head coach for eight NBA franchises, including getting fired four times as the leading man.Brown has coached some of the league’s biggest stars, including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
He coached under some of the most venerated coaches, including Popovich and Steve Kerr.But now, for the first time in his career, the Larry O’Brien Trophy is within his grasp as the head of a locker room.Brown points to his time under Popovich as one of the biggest reasons he has arrived at this moment.“It was huge,” Brown said.
“Pop — I talk about MSG being iconic, New York City being iconic — Pop is iconic, especially here in San Anton...