Mike Brown (basketball, born 1970)

Early years

Brown was born in Columbus, Ohio, but spent periods of his childhood overseas. He graduated in 1988 from Würzburg American High School in Würzburg, Germany, where he excelled in basketball and football. After studying and playing basketball for two years at Mesa Community College, Brown went on to the University of San Diego, where he played two seasons for the Toreros and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Video and scouting

He began his career in 1992 as an unpaid video intern with the Denver Nuggets, and eventually spent five seasons with the team as a scout and video coordinator.

Assistant coach

In 2000, Brown was hired by Gregg Popovich as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. While with the Spurs, Brown's teams won at least 58 games each season. He also was the head coach for the Spurs' summer league teams in Boston and Salt Lake City.

After winning a championship with San Antonio in 2003, Brown was hired as assistant coach to Rick Carlisle with the Indiana Pacers. He helped lead Indiana to consecutive playoff appearances including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004. Brown followed Ron Artest into the stands and was instrumental in getting him back to the locker room during the massive brawl between the Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and Pistons fans at the Palace at Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004.

Brown's record as an assistant coach is 341–201 (.629).

Cleveland Cavaliers

In June 2005, Brown replaced Brendan Malone for his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the second youngest coach in the league behind only Lawrence Frank of the New Jersey Nets. He was often referred to as "Potato Head" by fans, in reference to the popular toy.

On June 2, 2007, Brown's Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. However, they were swept in four games by his former team, the San Antonio Spurs.

On February 1, 2008, Brown was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January 2008.

In 2009, Brown was named coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, making him the second coach in Cavaliers history to coach the All-Star team, joining Lenny Wilkens who coached the East team in 1989.

On April 20, 2009, Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year after guiding the Cavaliers to a franchise-best 66–16 record.

On May 13, 2010, Brown and the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. With this loss, the Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to accomplish back-to-back 60+ win seasons and not advance to the NBA Finals.

Brown was fired on May 24, 2010. In December 2010, he began working with ESPN as a studio analyst.

After leaving Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown became the assistant coach on his son's team at Westlake Lee Burneson Middle School in Ohio. In doing so he turned down an offer to serve as an assistant at St. Mary’s College in California. "I’m a glorified equipment guy who gets to chest-bump and high-five the players," Brown said. "The kids still call me coach."

Los Angeles Lakers

On May 25, 2011, Brown agreed to be Phil Jackson's successor and become the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He reportedly agreed to a 3-year deal, with a team option to renew his contract for a fourth year. On May 31, 2011, he was officially named the Lakers' new head coach. The 2011–12 season was shortened to 66 games by the lockout that season, and the Lakers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Before the 2012–13 season, Brown decided that the Lakers would use a version of the Princeton offense. Shortly afterward, the Lakers acquired All-Stars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, giving them a starting lineup of five former All-Stars with a combined 33 All-Star game appearances. Although immediately considered top title contenders, the Lakers struggled to adjust to the changes in both system and personnel, and were winless in eight preseason games. The team's travails continued into the start of the regular season with the team losing four of its first five games, and on November 9, 2012, Brown was fired. Nash had played just  1 ¹⁄₂ games due to injury, Howard was playing but recovering from back surgery, and Kobe Bryant had been playing with an injured foot and was unable to practice. The team was still adjusting to the new offense and committing a high number of turnovers; the defense, a specialty of Brown's, was also vulnerable. The Lakers, however, had an urgency to win and were not compelled to wait given their aging stars, Howard's pending free agency the coming summer, and owner Jerry Buss's deteriorating health. Brown's dismissal after five games was the third-fastest coaching change in NBA history. Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff served as the Lakers' interim head coach until Mike D'Antoni was hired to take over on November 20, 2012.

Return to Cleveland

On April 24, 2013, Brown was rehired by the Cavaliers, replacing Byron Scott. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was quoted saying that firing Brown the first time was a "mistake." For the first time as a head coach, Brown's team posted a losing record over a 82-game season as his team was marred by injuries and reported infighting amongst players. On May 12, 2014, he was fired by Gilbert a second time.

Golden State Warriors

On July 4, 2016, the Warriors hired Brown as an assistant coach, replacing Luke Walton who left to take over as Los Angeles Lakers' head coach. Brown has acted as acting head coach during periods in which head coach Steve Kerr was unable to do so due to chronic back pain, and continued head coaching into the playoffs. Brown led the Warriors to a 11-0 record in the postseason while Kerr was absent. The Warriors went on to win the championship in five games, defeating Brown's former team Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors finished the playoffs with a 16-1 record, the best postseason winning percentage in NBA history.