Knicks coach Mike Brown calls Albuquerque home, praises Hatch green chile

Knicks coach Mike Brown has lived on Albuquerque’s West Side for several years, and his offseason home is in the city. The NBA champion’s local habits and family connections have made him a familiar name in Bernalillo County, not just in New York.

Brown’s ties run through two of New Mexico’s biggest basketball touchpoints: the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University. That gives his Albuquerque base a reach beyond a simple vacation stop, especially for fans who follow college hoops as closely as the NBA.

He has also made clear that Albuquerque is more than a place to pass through. A Journal post on X described Brown as calling Albuquerque home, and his praise for Hatch green chile has become part of the way he is identified locally. For many New Mexico readers, that detail lands because it ties a championship-level coach to a distinctly New Mexican marker.

The connection also fit into the Journal’s June coverage of New Mexico ties around the NBA Finals, where Brown was listed among the names that could give readers a rooting interest. In a state where pro basketball attention often overlaps with deep loyalty to local schools and hometown connections, Brown’s Albuquerque address gives the Knicks coach an unusual foothold in the public imagination.

Brown should not be confused with another Mike Brown with a major place in local basketball history. Albuquerque Academy remembered its Hall of Fame boys basketball coach Mike Brown on July 1, 2021, the day he died at age 75. That Mike Brown built one of the state’s great dynasties at Albuquerque Academy, leaving a separate and lasting legacy in New Mexico prep sports.