Mike Brown now has been part of 5 NBA championship runs. The Knicks got this one right

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Mike Brown didn't seem to be the New York Knicks' first choice to take over as coach last spring, when the team fired Tom Thibodeau and was linked to at least a half-dozen other candidates who held various jobs around the NBA.

In the end, he clearly was the right choice.

Brown is now a five-time NBA champion coach — four of those rings won as an assistant, the fifth coming as head coach of the Knicks. He joins only Red Holzman on the list of those who won titles as coach of the Knicks, and fittingly, he did it on June 13.

There's a banner in Madison Square Garden that says “Holzman 613” to commemorate his win total with the franchise. Brown won this title on 6/13.

“I’m pretty good at trying to control what I can control,” Brown said. “I had zero control over who else was interviewing, who was denied permission. I had zero control over that. I just did the best I could in the interview process. I went about my business and waited until it was either going to progress or end. ... I was pretty nonchalant about it as time went on. I just let it unfold the way it unfolded.”

Brown speaks fondly of his days with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, a place his family still calls home — and the place where the Knicks captured this title after topping the Spurs in five games. He raves about his years coaching with Steve Kerr in Golden State as well.

Brown was an assistant on the 2003 Spurs title team, then was with the Warriors for three more title runs. He was the NBA's coach of the year while with Cleveland in 2009; the Cavaliers wound up firing him. He was the NBA's coach of the year again while with Sacramento in 2023; the Kings wound up firing him, too.

But in New York, he's a legend for life now.

“Mike was invaluable to this run,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “He understands what it is to be a champion. He understands how to build a team, how to build habits that will put you in this position. We’re so grateful, so thankful to have him at the top. He kept us even so many times. He’s brought the best out of us, as people first. I’m so happy for him. He’s the reason why we’re here. He’s the reason why we’re here, and we’ve got love for him.”

Brown kept the mood light throughout the postseason push, didn't blink when the Knicks were down 2-1 in Round 1 to Atlanta after a pair of one-point losses, and always seemed to be the calm in the eye of the storm. Social media was blowing up with how Brown wasn't the right coach for the job when the Knicks trailed the Hawks.

New York went 15-1 from there. And a 53-year wait between titles is now over.

“I am so tired. I mean, I’m gassed,” Brown said. “You know, this stuff is harder than what you think.”

Maybe so, but he makes it look easy.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown speaks during a news conference prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 12, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown speaks during a news conference prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 12, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown yells during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown celebrates with his team after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown talks with his team during a time out during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

BUTLER, Mo. (AP) — A plane carrying a pilot and 11 passengers planning to spend a sunny afternoon skydiving crashed Sunday in Missouri, killing all aboard, authorities said.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a statement that troopers were at the crash site, assisting the Butler Police Department & Bates County Sheriff’s Office. The crash occurred near the Butler Memorial Airport. The small town of Butler has a population of around 4,300 people and is roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) south of Kansas City.

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Justin Ewing said the plane was taking people up to skydive. Emergency responders got a call that a plane was down and engulfed in flames around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, he said.

“It landed in a field adjacent to the airport, but I think they’re shutting down the roadway just as a precaution,” Ewing said.

A heap of blue and silver mangled metal lay in the grass near the airport with a massive line-up of emergency vehicles on the street beside it.

Teams from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were en route to the crash site Sunday afternoon to investigate, according to the Missouri State Patrol.

The private plane was operated by Skydive Kansas City, said Dennis Jacobs, the acting airport manager and Bates County Emergency Management Agency director.

“It had just taken off and made a left turn” before the crash, Jacobs said. “In my opinion I think it was losing power, and he was trying to make it over to the highway and land, and he stalled and went down nose first and caught fire.”

Emergency responders were able to put out the fire shortly after the crash, Jacobs said, calling the scene “brutal.”

First responders have checked the area under the flight path and did not find anyone who might have tried to jump out before the crash, Jacobs said.

The Pacific Aerospace 750XL that crashed is a single engine turboprop plane model that’s popular for skydiving but has also proven useful for other uses, including cargo, aerial surveying and medical evacuation flights. The aircraft can carry as many as 17 skydivers and is capable of taking off and landing on short runways. The plane that crashed Saturday was manufactured in 2010, according to FAA records.

The small airport serves around 30 aircraft, all privately owned, including crop dusting companies and sky dive operators, Ewing said.

Sky diving companies operate in the region eight or nine months a year, with the season usually starting in late March or early April and lasting into October or November. Someone answering the phone at Skydive Kansas City declined to speak to a reporter from The Associated Press.

It's not yet known what factors may have contributed to the crash or caused it, Ewing said, and those details will be part of the investigation carried out by NTSB officials.

Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said that poor maintenance has been a factor in a number of previous skydiving plane crashes because these companies are not held to a high standard under FAA rules. Guzzetti said skydiving companies are governed by the same rules any private plane owner has to follow and not the more stringent rules that charter flight operators and airlines adhere to.

“There’s been a whole history of skydiving accidents for inadequate maintenance and deficient safety culture,” said Guzzetti who used to be a crash investigator for both the NTSB and FAA.

This video frame grab provided by KMBC-TV shows an aerial view of the crash scene near the Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Mo., Sunday, June 14, 2026. (KMBC-TV via AP)

Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson speaks at a press conference about the plane crash at Butler Memorial Airport, in Butler, Mo., Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Emergency vehicles parked outside the Butler Memorial Airport after a plane crash in Butler, Mo., Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)