Steve Kerr’s coaching influence runs through this year’s Eastern Conference finals, where Mike Brown’s Knicks and Kenny Atkinson’s Cavaliers will face off beginning Tuesday. Both men learned under Kerr after their careers were redirected by earlier head-coachi
When the Eastern Conference finals tip off on Tuesday, it won’t just be a battle between two playoff teams. It will also be a quiet reminder of how coaching can outlive a title run.
Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson—once lead assistants to Steve Kerr during Golden State’s 2022 championship season—are returning to the spotlight with their own head-coaching success. Brown’s Knicks and Atkinson’s Cavaliers are set to play. and the thread connecting them goes back to the moment both men were brought to the Warriors after earlier stumbles as head coaches.
Brown was fired in 2014 after one season in Cleveland. Atkinson’s path looked different but carried the same kind of reset: he was let go by the Nets during the COVID-19 pandemic. After one season as an assistant on the Clippers’ bench, he spent three years with Golden State.
Back in 2022, those stops mattered less than what Kerr’s staff offered once the two men joined the Warriors. Brown described it plainly earlier this year: “I’ll tell you what. just being around Steve was very beneficial for me and my career. I’ve said this many times before. Steve and (former Spurs coach Gregg) Popovich are probably two of the best messengers I’ve been around. ” Brown said. “They have a really good feel and pulse of the group.”.
Now that message appears to have stuck.
Brown returned to head coaching with another opportunity in Sacramento. That run included leading the Kings to their first playoff berth in 16 years while winning coach of the year in 2022-23. This season, he’s found immediate traction in New York after replacing Tom Thibodeau.
The impact of that work is visible in how players talk about the process. Moses Moody said of Brown, “He does the work. He does all the work. I used to come back to shoot at 10 o’clock at night. and Mike Brown would be up there in his office. He’s real detail-oriented, he’s smart, and he pays attention a lot.”.
Atkinson’s arc has run parallel, just with different landmarks. He’s had success in two seasons with the Cavaliers. In 2024-25, Cleveland posted a 64-18 record and he won coach of the year. Then. after a midseason trade brought James Harden into the lineup. Atkinson adapted his attack and helped propel the Cavs to their first conference finals since LeBron James departed in 2018.
Like Brown, Atkinson credits the leadership education he absorbed under Kerr. “It was like finishing school for me,” Atkinson said. “Steve understands leadership as well as anybody, any coach I’ve been around.”
Even Kerr’s comments have mirrored that view. Kerr has praised Brown whenever asked about him. and he made sure to give Atkinson his due before a December game in Cleveland. Kerr said. “I learned a lot from him. and you know. he looked at the game a little differently than I did. He had a much more analytical mind than I did. and it was one of the reasons I brought him in.”.
Those details help explain why the teams feel familiar in the ways that matter.
The Knicks have leaned on a scheme that often turns Karl-Anthony Towns into a post-based facilitator, drawing comparisons to Draymond Green’s role. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, often have Donovan Mitchell spend significant stretches off-ball, a move Golden State has used with Steph Curry.
It’s not just Xs and Os. The resemblance runs toward the kind of roster Kerr values—size, athleticism, and the flexibility to defend and create. But in the Bay Area, those pieces are harder to find right now.
“There are elements of Kerr’s unique offense within both teams’ scheme. ” the story around this matchup makes clear—and it points back to the Warriors’ own priorities as the season moves toward offseason decisions. Finding those pieces is a priority for the Warriors. Kerr said last week, “Well, we’ve been really studying all those trends for years now. It’s what we do every summer. We have every one of our assistant coaches is doing deep dives on what’s happening around the league. The analytics department is making suggestions, and you’re seeing it around the league. You see the changes in the way people play.”.
The clearest proof of what Kerr’s staff has been emphasizing is what both East teams still have—and what the Warriors are looking for. A bouncy wing like New York’s OG Anunoby and a versatile rim-protector such as Cleveland’s Evan Mobley are nowhere to be found in the Bay Area.
For fans locked into the Western Conference’s own heavyweight push—between the defending champion Thunder and upstart Spurs—former Warriors involvement is more limited. Harrison Barnes and Lindy Waters III are both reserves for San Antonio.
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams is the one notable crossover name, returning from a hamstring injury to play in Game 1, and he is a Santa Clara alum.
But the emotional center of this week sits on Tuesday’s opening night in the East. Brown and Atkinson did not arrive at their current jobs by luck. They were brought into Kerr’s orbit after being sent away from head coaching roles—and now. with the NBA’s attention shifting eastward. that coaching influence is set to be on full display.
Steve Kerr Mike Brown Kenny Atkinson Eastern Conference finals Knicks Cavaliers 2022 Warriors coaching influence OG Anunoby Karl-Anthony Towns Donovan Mitchell Evan Mobley James Harden