This Monday evening, the Knicks travel to Detroit. An important match for New York, which remains on three defeats in a row, and also to get closer to the Pistons in the standings, still leaders of the Eastern Conference, with three victories in advance. Regardless of the angle of attack, it is indeed a shock for this part of the country, especially since it is the first time this season that the two teams have crossed paths.
Perhaps the most original angle to approach this meeting is that of the relationship between the two coaches, Mike Brown et JB Bickerstaff. It turns out that, in the 1990s, the first was the second’s babysitter!
We’re in Denver and Bickerstaff’s father, Bernie, is the GM of the Nuggets, the franchise where Mike Brown began his coaching career, as a video assistant. In addition to watching the images and preparing them, the Knicks coach, who was then more than 20 years old, had an additional role: taking care of the GM’s teenage son. The two are nine years apart and then find themselves at the zoo, or even on the floor to play one-on-one.
“For a man in his twenties to take care of a 12-13 year old kid, it was not ordinary”
“He was strict”remembers the Detroit coach for The Athletic. “He had a great way of making things fun, while always remaining organized and thorough. Nothing escaped him and he was deathly afraid of my father. Nothing was going to happen to me. »
“I respected him, even at that age, because he was elegant and kind to me, more than many other adults – at the time he was old to me”he continues. “For a man in his twenties to take care of a 12-13 year old kid was not ordinary. He made time for me. We played one-on-one. He made me feel at ease and I knew I could trust him. »
For his part, Mike Brown recalls that young Bickerstaff was a “very good player”, that he never imagined one day on a bench. However, thirty years later, the former Cavaliers would give him the supreme trophy.
“I think he is, currently, one of the favorites to be coach of the year”says the technician from New York. “The first name that comes to mind is his and Joe Mazzulla. Both are doing great things with teams that people didn’t believe in. I’m not surprised by what he’s doing in Detroit, because he’s so passionate, so hard-working and very intelligent. »
The years have passed, the two have grown up, even matured, and coached several teams in the NBA but the bond remains. “I always try to help him in some way because his father gave me my first chance. It’s my little one”concludes Mike Brown on his counterpart.
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