NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 4, 2026

Mike Brown

New York Knicks

Practice Day

Q. Mike, just wanted to ask you, you've seen it time and time again, last night's was classic, Josh's performance, to contribute like he did when he only scored three points, talk about what this guy does.

MIKE BROWN: Yeah, he was huge. He helped us with our pace. We want to play fast. Everybody knows it. It's hard to score as you go along in the Playoffs. You try to get the ball up the floor as quickly as possible to attack a defense that's not set. Josh was phenomenal helping us do that.

He guarded a lot of different guys. When he did do it, he tried to be physical without fouling, because their guards are really, really good. They get to where they want to. Especially in the paint they hurt you.

He rebounded the basketball. He was great. He was great on the weak side defensively. He impacted the game in so many different ways for us. When you look at what he shot from the field, you wouldn't think that he was probably the most impactful guy on the game last night.

Q. Similar to that, with Jose, 11 minutes, but how much did he contribute to the end result last night?

MIKE BROWN: He was huge. We talked about it during our film session. I pointed it out before we got started. When Jalen went out the game, he came in and he kind of stabilized us because we were floundering a little bit. He got us into our offense.

He was really, really good defensively. He's always into the game. He's always present. So for him to be able to come and hold down the fort the way that he did was much needed.

Q. What was yesterday like for you? We always spend all these days talking about the X's and O's in basketball. Do you take a moment to take in where you're at, your career, anything like that?

MIKE BROWN: After?

Q. Going into it. It's the start of the Finals, being back here.

MIKE BROWN: No, not really. Just kind of, you know, had my game-day routine, what I try to do, get ready for the game, then come down.

So no, not really.

Q. I'm going to ask you about X's and O's. KAT, it seems like this whole Playoff run, has been so much better in terms of executing proper coverages, team defense. What do you think is allowing him to be so urgent and so good executing on that end?

MIKE BROWN: KAT has been really present with everything that we're doing. When you're present, you give yourself a chance to really lock into the small details that are in front of you. He's done that at a really high rate.

Last night he was really good in transition defensively. Probably one of the best he's been all season. The coverages, he was really good.

Wemby, man, obviously iconic player, you're not going to stop him, you hope he misses. You got to throw different people, different coverages at him. You got to try not to send him to the free throw line. We sent him to the free throw line 13 times, but KAT himself did a pretty decent job of trying to lead with his chest while being physical.

Again, I think it's all due to him wanting to do whatever he can to help the team while being present.

Q. They were 11 of 42 from three. The saying is make or miss. I guess I'm wondering, were you okay with the threes they ended up taking? Almost all of them seemed to be catch-and-shoots. Do you want to tighten that up more?

MIKE BROWN: Yeah, we always want to try to get a little bit better with what we're doing, including the three-point line.

At the end of the day, this team, they'll kill you if you allow their guards that are big, athletic, long, quick as they are to get into the paint and finish.

If I had to pick my druthers, I'd take a late-contested three by their guards just because they're so good when they hit the paint.

Now, they can beat you from the three-point line. We saw it in Oklahoma City series. We're going to have to try to be better at it. At the end of the day, I know we can't allow them to live in the paint against us because they'll destroy us if they do.

Q. Mike, you said a couple times this year that KAT is a capable defender, it's just a matter if he chooses to execute on that end or not. At what point, maybe as an opposing coach, when did you see he had the potential to be a higher-level defender? Did you have to challenge him?

MIKE BROWN: I had to challenge everybody, not just him. I challenged everybody probably individually a handful of times, and the team.

KAT is smart. He's got a good feel. He's got better feet than what you think. He's long. He's long and he's strong. Those combinations bode well for a guy defensively.

It's just about embracing it and staying present while understanding what the small details of your job should be.

Q. Hunting matchups is something that Jalen has done to great success in these Playoffs. With Castle guarding him, I'm curious, the calculus, the discussion that goes into it, do you and him get together and figure what matchups you can seek out? Is it a feel thing for him late in games? Or is it just strictly organic?

MIKE BROWN: We talk about all that stuff. I've talked about my staff a ton. It starts with those guys. Our advance scouts do a great job. Then it gets to our assistants. Chris Jent and TJ Saint are good with our analytics guys trying to figure out at times if we want to attack a matchup in this situation or that situation of who to go to.

It's a collective effort. We get input from the players. We get input from other people on the staff. I don't think it's any different from what anybody else does. Everybody wants to, quote/unquote, target Jalen on a roster or target KAT in the pick and roll.

We understand that going in. We have to make sure that our team defense is on point, like other teams we play have to go through that process, too.

Q. Obviously there's been a lot of conversation during these Playoffs about the way your fans have traveled. I realize your players are going to be motivated under any circumstances. When you have that level of fan support on the road, what kind of tangible impact does that have on the team's performance?

MIKE BROWN: It's huge. During these games against good teams, especially on the road, you want to find places where you can get energy or a little boost of energy at any given time.

To have the type of fans that we do that not only bring the energy in the city of New York, on the streets, at MSG, but to have them come and take over a town, take over a hotel, take over an arena and hear them chant, "Let's go Knicks," or Jalen shooting a free throw row, MVP, that gives you a boost that you know you have people here supporting you at a pretty high level.