Warriors' Steve Kerr Praises Knicks' Mike Brown After Breaking NY's 53-Year Drought to Win NBA Title

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown received a congratulatory message from one of his mentors after leading his team to the 2026 NBA championship.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who hired Brown as associate head coach in 2016 and worked with him for six seasons, sent a text message to The Athletic's Sam Amick praising Brown for helping the Knicks win their first NBA title since 1973.

"Just thrilled for him," Kerr said. "He's a wonderful person."

Brown was a part of three of the Warriors' NBA championship wins while working alongside Kerr. They also briefly overlapped during Kerr's playing days, as Brown was an assistant on the San Antonio Spurs during Kerr's stint with the Silver & Black.

Ironically, it was the Spurs whom Brown and the Knicks defeated in five games to win the NBA title. New York showed incredible resilience throughout the playoffs and had to overcome double-digit deficits in each of its wins in the NBA Finals.

Kerr and the rest of the basketball world couldn't help but admire the job that Brown did with the Knicks this season, and they will continue their championship celebration throughout the summer.