New York Knicks coach Mike Brown counts Bernie Bickerstaff as his biggest mentor

LAS VEGAS – There was reverence, laughter, trash-talking and moist eyes when Bernie Bickerstaff — a former NBA head coach and general manager with 50 years of experience in the league — was celebrated by speeches from his adoring peers after Summer League action in late July.

It was also just days after Mike Brown was being named the head coach of the New York Knicks. When considering the life-changing door that Bickerstaff opened for Brown to join him in the NBA in 1992, the pupil broke down emotionally while giving his salutatory speech.

Once Brown collected himself and finished his words, Bickerstaff walked to the stage and embraced him.

“He cares, he appreciates, and he’s loyal,” Bickerstaff told Andscape. “That is who Mike is, but it was nothing that I expected. It was touching. And one thing I know, it was genuine. And as far as I’m concerned, it continues to solidify the relationship.”

Said Brown: “He’s been a great guiding light for me in this business. More than that, he gave me an opportunity when he didn’t have to. And I’m going to always be appreciative of that.” 

Four months later, Brown coached the Knicks to their first title in 50 years and enjoyed a beer to celebrate. 

The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 in the NBA Cup final at T-Mobile Center on Tuesday night. While it wasn’t an NBA championship, the title is the Knicks’ first since winning an NBA championship in 1973. Brown is a huge fan of the competitive nature the NBA Cup brings and believes the Knicks can use it as a confidence booster — offering a unique experience that can lead to that elusive, long-awaited championship in June.

“You’ve got to give [NBA commissioner] Adam [Silver] a lot of credit and the NBA league office for creating an environment like this, because it helps us coaches add pressure to your group early in the season,” Brown said after the NBA Cup title. “This is a single-elimination tournament when you get to a certain point. Every game counts.

“There is pressure on every game if you expect to be who you are. That pressure is manufactured without you as a coach having to do it all the time. And when you’re able to have success doing it, it breeds confidence in everybody within the organization. That can propel you come the right time when you’re in that environment because you’ve already been through it.”

Bickerstaff, 81, Brown’s biggest mentor, has spent more than 50 years in the NBA as a head coach, general manager and in more recent years as an advisor. The 2014 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement award winner coached 937 regular-season games (419-518 record) with the Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats and Los Angeles Lakers. The father of Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, he is currently an advisor for the Pistons.

Bernie Bickerstaff truly appreciated the BCA salute. 

“It was very impactful for me,” Bickerstaff said.  

Bernie Bickerstaff is a former University of San Diego basketball star who was named to the school’s Hall of Fame in 1994. Brown also played guard for San Diego from 1990 to 1992. After Brown’s college career, then-San Diego men’s basketball head coach Hank Egan helped him land a video internship under then-Nuggets president and GM Bickerstaff in 1992.

Bickerstaff was so impressed with Brown’s meticulous hard work and video breakdowns during the summer of 1992 that he offered him a job. Brown reluctantly turned it down because he still had to finish his degree at San Diego; he promised his mother he would. Bickerstaff, however, held the job for Brown until he could return in mid-December 1992.

“We were so impressed with him that we told him go back to finish school, graduate and then there is a job for you here,” Bickerstaff said. “So, that is how he got started. He was a video coordinator and everything you needed him to be. If you needed something done that required organization or paperwork for that next meeting, he did it. And it was well-organized and detail-oriented. The thing you say about Mike is he cares, he appreciates, he’s loyal and very good at what he does. …

“I could tell he would be a good coach by his attention to detail and his work ethic. Mike was a good listener. He wasn’t one of those guys trying to be the smartest guy in the room. He was a guy who just fits.” 

Said Brown: “[Bickerstaff] means the world to me. He gave me an opportunity in this league and he taught me a lot at a very young age. …

“By the way, his dad never paid me for babysitting J.B. I don’t think I will ever get that money back. But I just wanted to put that out there. I might go after J.B. for that money.”

Brown worked his way up the ladder to begin his NBA coaching career in 1997 as an assistant with defensive responsibilities on Bickerstaff’s bench with the Wizards. Brown later became an assistant coach for head coach Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, where the Spurs won a title in 2003. After later serving as assistant coach under Rick Carlisle in Indiana, Brown landed his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005, helping a young LeBron James to the 2007 NBA Finals and winning NBA Coach of the Year in 2009.

Brown also coached Kobe Bryant and the Lakers during the 2011-12 season before winning three titles an associate head coach of the Golden State Warriors from 2016 to 2022. In 2023, he led the Kings to their first playoff appearance in 16 years and won NBA Coach of the Year for a second time. The 55-year-old is 28 regular-season wins away from reaching 500 victories in his coaching career.

Through the years, Brown has also been a mentor for several African American head and assistant coaches who are thankful for him. Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez worked under Brown with the Kings. Indiana Pacers associate head coach Lloyd Pierce, a former Atlanta Hawks head coach, worked under Brown in Cleveland. Darvin Ham, a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach and former Lakers head coach, played in Denver when Brown was an assistant there. Former NBA head coach David Fizdale, who played collegiately as San Diego, is also a Brown mentee.

“You always try to pay it forward,” Brown said. “There were always guys in front of me, in particular Bernie Bickerstaff, Mike Evans, Gene Little in Detroit. There were plenty of guys before me who kind of showed me the ropes and took me under their wing as a young African American coach in this business.

“It’s no different. I try to give back. I don’t have relationships with everybody in the league like that. But Lloyd Pierce should get another opportunity as a head coach really soon, Darvin Ham, Fizdale. I coached Darvin Ham in Denver back in the day. All of those guys I’ve tried my best to give them advice every time I can. In the same breath, they may give me advice, too. The respect is definitely there from me and vice versa.”

A year ago, however, Brown’s tenure with the Kings was on shaky ground despite him signing a three-year contract extension in the summer of 2024. There was lasting negative residue from Sacramento missing the postseason in 2024. The Kings were struggling mightily with a 13-13 record and star guard De’Aaron Fox, now with the Spurs, was a short-timer after declining a contract extension in the summer of 2024.

Bernie Bickerstaff said a worried Brown consulted with him at that time.

“We talk periodically on and off all the time,” Bickerstaff said. “Nothing long. Just reaching out. We talked prior to [the firing] at Sacramento and afterwards. Basically, what I did was listen to what was going on and how he felt. These days it’s paramount with who you surround yourself with.”

Said Brown: “We’re in touch to this day. Every time he speaks my ears perk up and listen. Like my father, everything he’s told me has come true as time goes on. As a youngster, you might fight your parents, but once you get a certain age you understand the wisdom behind what they’re saying is only there to help you. And I feel no different about Bernie.”

Brown was driving to the airport for a Kings road trip after leading practice when he received a call from management that he was fired on Dec. 27, 2024. The Kings were 13-18 at the time with a five-game losing streak. Brown was replaced by interim head coach Doug Christie, who was later promoted to head coach. The Kings didn’t make the playoffs last season and are struggling now with a 6-20 record.

Reflecting on his firing, Brown offered positive words about Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive and the Kings’ franchise, saying he wanted “to thank the Kings for an opportunity.”

“I’ll always be grateful for everyone that has given me an opportunity, so they’re no different,” Brown said. “We enjoyed the city of Sacramento and thank the fans there. They were fabulous. We lived in a great neighborhood. But in life, change happens — not just for me but for everybody else — and you’ve got to be ready to pivot. …

“So, I don’t have a lot of time to reflect on the past. I’m about being present and trying to figure out where we can go as an organization and a city going forward. That’s what I look forward to and am extremely excited about more than anything else on a daily basis.” 

Said Bickerstaff on Brown’s firing: “To me, it had nothing to do with Mike personally in terms of his basketball skills. Sometimes it’s just not a fit. … It’s not an easy career in the National Basketball Association.”

Brown being fired in Sacramento was a blessing in disguise as he was hired by the Knicks on July 7. Bickerstaff said Brown’s hiring in New York “spoke volumes about who he is.” Brown inherited a Knicks team that last season advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years and had two All-Stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Brown said he feels “fortunate, blessed, lucky” to be the coach of the Knicks. New York will return to NBA play with the East’s second-best record at 18-7.

Brunson and Towns said they have enjoyed playing for Brown.

“I was very excited when Mike got the job,” Brunson said. “First thing he did is he called me, and we went to dinner and talked for like two, three hours. Not really talking about anything basketball-wise, X’s and O’s or Knicks-wise; we were just talking. I really appreciated the time he spent coming down to see me. It was great. It was a great first impression.

“Since then, our relationship has grown. Our communication is great, the way we talk about things. Haven’t really had any negative conversations or anything like that, but he’s been great. The way he’s holding all of us accountable, pushing us, it’s something that we need from him, and we’re really thankful for him.”

Said Towns: “Very personable guy. Obviously, loves to laugh. With his new offensive, defensive system, we’re all adjusting. He’s doing his best to make it easy for us to transition and to do the best we can to impact the game.”

The Black Coaches Association was founded in 1988 as a powerful advocacy group to increase minority opportunities in coaching, merging basketball and football coaches to fight for better representation. In the early years, legendary African American college basketball coaches such as John Thompson, John Chaney, George Raveling and Nolan Richardson were central figures, tackling issues such as standardized testing and hiring practices. Coaches like Pierce and Washington Wizards assistant coach David Vanterpool spearheaded the event honoring Bickerstaff in July.

There are 11 African American NBA head coaches among 30 teams. There were more than 200 NBA and college coaches, agents and media — predominately Black — in the standing-room event at a large conference room at Resort World. Bickerstaff said he was impressed by the “full room” and the basketball dignitaries there.

Pierce said many coaches love and respect Brown for how he’s impacted and empowered them early in their careers, the same way Bickerstaff did for Brown. Pierce actually pushed Brown to give what became an emotional speech about Bickerstaff at the event.

“In Las Vegas, [Brown] was able to express his gratitude and appreciation for his why,” Pierce told Andscape. “That was because Bernie empowered him and gave him his first start. [Brown’s speech] was emotional, sincere, and full of gratitude. A full-circle leadership moment for us all to witness.”

Said Vanterpool to Andscape: “In one fully transparent, emotional speech by Mike, everything about how he handled himself when it came to others made so much sense. He understood grace, opportunity and loyalty so well because Bernie Bickerstaff had given that to him when he started in basketball. Mike has shown a lot of us what Bernie showed him: a belief that we could and an opportunity to show it.”

Brown has coached in the NBA Finals, won NBA championships as an assistant coach and led the Knicks to an NBA Cup title. The only thing missing is an NBA championship as a head coach. Bringing one to New York would be historic for the franchise and for Brown.

When reflecting on all that Brown has done, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more proud than the mentor who gave him his first chance.

“Mike is such a great guy,” Bickerstaff said. “You don’t get any bulls— from Mike. But his word, if he tells you something, it’s going to get done if it is in anyway humanly possible. It will get done.

“I don’t know what scale you can put it on. But whatever scale you can put it on, it’s on the highest level in terms of how I feel about him and what he’s doing.”

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