What Does Mike Brown Want Out Of Tyler Kolek? Cockiness And Nastiness

Tyler Kolek has been a pleasant surprise for the New York Knicks this season. As far as head coach Mike Brown is concerned, Kolek needs to keep his foot on the gas pedal in terms of his growth on the hardcourt.

Brown has no reason to change his approach, as Kolek has responded well to his coach’s incessant prodding. Case in point: When the Knicks visited the Minnesota Timberwolves last week, Kolek got a resounding wake-up call from Brown, who was displeased with his shooting performance.

“When we were in Minnesota at halftime, I went at him in front of the whole group. ‘You’re 3–10, three or four airballs. If you’re gonna take that many f***ing shots, you gotta make some,” Brown told reporters.

Rather than take this call-out personally, Kolek responded with both a better shooting clip and a feistier attitude. “He goes 6–12 in the second half, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. He walks by me, looks me in the eye, and goes, ‘I made shots.’ And he walked off.”

According to Brown, this was exactly the type of passion that he was looking for. “That’s the cockiness and the nastiness that he has to show. Not just to me, but everybody else.”

Kolek, who started in place of Jalen Brunson (injury management), finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists that night. The Knicks lost 115–104, but Brown nevertheless picked up a win with the sophomore guard’s strong response.

This type of hustle is exactly what Kolek needs to earn minutes on a Knicks roster that banks heavily on the trio of Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Unlike the Villanova crew, Kolek came into the league with significantly lower expectations, being drafted 34th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft after honing his craft at Marquette and George Mason.

The 6-foot-3 guard had to pay his dues in the G League. In 2024, he helped the Westchester Knicks win the Winter Showcase title, earning MVP honors in that tournament. Achievements like these helped Kolek retain his spot on New York’s roster, and while he averaged just 7.2 minutes under Tom Thibodeau in the 2024–25 campaign, he is playing 13.1 minutes per game in Brown’s first season as Knicks head coach.

Kolek is putting up 5.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg, and 3.0 apg this season. Could he possibly bump his numbers? Yes, but according to Brown, he’ll need a healthy dose of cockiness and nastiness.