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The ‘money’ reason why Mike Brown wants to play San Antonio Spurs in NBA Finals
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- The ‘money’ reason why Mike Brown wants to play San Antonio Spurs in NBA Finals
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Mike Brown says the New York Knicks do not care who they face in the NBA Finals, but playing the San Antonio Spurs would at least save him some family travel money.
Brown's answer was a clever mix of coach-speak and personal humor. The Knicks head coach kept the focus on the Knicks' mentality, then slipped in a joke about his family ties in San Antonio .
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It was a measured response from a coach trying to avoid any debate about which opponent might offer New York an easier path.
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Mike Brown says New York Knicks standard matters more than San Antonio Spurs matchup
In a recent SNY Knicks interview , Brown was asked if the identity of their Finals opponent mattered.
"No, it doesn't. If we expect to be who we think we are then at the end of the day, it doesn't matter," Brown said.
He added, "If we played San Antonio, it would save me some money because my family lives in San Antonio. I don't have to buy airline tickets."
Brown does not want the Knicks publicly choosing between the Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder , especially after New York finally reached the Finals for the first time since 1999.
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The second part gave the line its charm. Brown's family angle turned a predictable Finals question into a money-saving punchline.
Mike Brown's San Antonio Spurs history gives New York Knicks joke extra weight
Brown's link to the Spurs goes beyond family ties. Early in his coaching career, he worked under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, a stint that helped shape the coach he is today.
That history would make a Knicks-Spurs Finals feel personal beyond the airline-ticket joke. Brown would be facing a franchise tied to his development while trying to bring New York its first championship in decades.
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There is also a basketball reason the question keeps coming up. The Thunder have been viewed as the more seasoned threat, while San Antonio's run is built around Victor Wembanyama and a younger core still learning this stage.
But Brown steered clear of that narrative. He did not suggest the Spurs would be an easier matchup, nor did he offer Oklahoma City any bulletin-board material.
For Brown, the joke was about money, but the message was about confidence. If the Knicks are who they believe they are, the opponent cannot become the excuse.
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