Is Mike Brown headed down Tom Thibodeau’s path? Knicks reportedly call players-only meeting amid skid

It is not an easy time to be a New York Knicks fan, but the players of the franchise are equally frustrated with the struggle. After the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau last year after reaching playoff and ending the 2024-25 season, the franchise selected Mike Brown after a rigorous search.

And now, his career appears to be in limbo as well. The Knicks are still near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, but the numbers beneath the surface tell a frustrating story. Eight losses in their last 10 games raised questions in Madison Square Garden. A four-game skid, capped by a 17-point home loss to Dallas, has exposed growing tension inside the team. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Knicks captain Jalen Brunson called a players-only meeting after Monday’s defeat.

With January slipping away and the margin for error shrinking, accountability moved inward. The backdrop of a roster still adjusting to life under first-year head coach Mike Brown.

Mike Brown era tested as Knicks locker room searches for answers

Ramona Shelburne reported that Brunson urged teammates to address their issues internally rather than leaning on the coaching staff for solutions. The Knicks opened the season 23-9 and lifted the NBA Cup in December. Since then, the offense has dropped into the bottom five in January, while the defense has followed a similar path.

The mood inside the arena mirrored the slide. Fans booed as New York trailed 75-45 at halftime against Dallas. After the game, Brunson did not soften his words."As a team we know what we have to do. It's either we do it, we care enough to do it, or we don't."Josh Hart shared that concern, stressing that pride and effort were missing."We all need to do some soul-searching. Right now we're playing embarrassing basketball.

We're not executing on the offensive end. Defensively, we've been abysmal. We've been terrible defensively all year."

Players-only meeting: Knicks highlights growing strain under Mike Brown

Earlier in the day, Hart responded to the losing streak with a calmer tone when asked about the slump.“I think it’s a combination of stuff. Just gotta be better defensively, more physical, into the ball, more effort, more energy. That kind of stuff. I can’t say that I’m surprised because obviously January – middle of January especially – those are the kind of dog days of the season.

So not too surprised,” Hart said. “You kind of see a few teams around kind of showing that fatigue. You know, it happens every year.”Hours later, the urgency rose.“We have to go out there with a sense of urgency,” Hart said. “At this point, (more than) 40 games in, normally you don’t put too much into struggles, because there’s highs and lows, but at this point we have to play desperate, because that’s (where) we are right now.”The contrast between last season and this one continues to surface.“I think last year no matter what we did, the effort was there. I haven’t seen this kind of effort that we had today, it was embarrassing,” Hart said.He added,“We didn’t shoot the ball, we couldn’t score, but we said, ‘We’re gonna lock in, and we’re gonna play defense, we’re gonna play physical, and we’re gonna make it tough.’ It’s the same group of guys, so how we’re playing right now is really inexcusable.”Ian Begley later reported that players have not fully bought into their roles under Brown, a shift from last season’s tighter rotation under Tom Thibodeau. With New York’s grip on third place loosening and expectations set high by ownership, the pressure around Brown is not theoretical anymore.