NBA Champ Mike Brown
+ Steve Kerr, Simplicity, Parkinson's Law, Masai Ujiri & More
“Expectations are one of the greatest things you can give kids because it’s a way of saying, “I have faith in you. You can do great things.”“ - Abigail Shrier
Hey Coaches,
Here you go!
✍️ Articles
Why You Stayed Silent (And It Was Never About Courage): Elise Dyer breaks down the two different reasons people stay quiet, what silence quietly costs teams and individuals, and what leaders must change structurally for people to actually speak up.
“When someone in a less powerful position hesitates to speak up, hedges their language, or asks for reassurance before raising a concern, this is frequently read by those above them as a lack of confidence or seniority. But what if it is closer to an accurate physiological read of the actual risk. The world genuinely does weigh more when you have less power to absorb the consequences of getting it wrong.”
“Power is, at its simplest, the ability of one person to set the terms of a relationship or a conversation, directly or indirectly, while the other person learns, often very quickly, what the cost of disagreement will be. Where that cost is consistently high, silence becomes the rational adaptation. Not weakness. Adaptation.”
The Athletic - Masai Ujiri’s rise to Mavericks: From no cell phone to leading the Cooper Flagg era: This is the story of Masai Ujiri’s rise—from low-level European leagues to building Toronto’s 2019 championship team—and what his new role as Mavericks president means for a franchise trying to rebuild around Cooper Flagg and move past the Luka Dončić trade fallout.
Ujiri’s background in scouting helped the Raptors find roses buried in the rubble. But the way Thorpe sees it, the success of Siakam and others in Toronto was as much about the fertile environment they were planted in as it was their talent level.
“I don’t think it’s about talent evaluation,” Thorpe said. “I think it’s about creating an atmosphere that allows players to reach their potential.”
Tim Hartford - The surprising power of simple predictions: Tim Harford explains why crude, equally-weighted prediction models often beat expert judgment and perfectly optimized formulas.
“even experts — no, especially experts — can become sidetracked by elaborate ideas, overlooking the simple and direct approach.”
🎙️ Podcast
Roommates Show - Mike Brown Joins Roommates: Road to NBA Finals, Reacting to Mikal’s WILD IG Live & Career Evolution: Knicks coach Mike Brown joins Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart to discuss building buy-in and a collaborative culture, how his messaging has evolved since his first head job with LeBron in Cleveland, and handling the noise that comes with coaching in New York. [6/30/26 — 61 minutes] Apple | Spotify | YouTube
“If I gave the group of players ownership in the process, in due time, they would try to do all those things while also not being afraid to hold me accountable. So I just wanted a collaborative environment from the beginning, but when it’s time to get down, everybody was ready to lock in and do what we need to do.”
“When I was working for Steve, I used to carry a little notepad in my back pocket... I took very, very few notes on the X’s and O’s part. The notes I took were about how he delivered his message to the team, when he did it, how long he went, what his body language was... who he included.”
“Going in this year, for me, the most important thing was my ability to message to you guys more than X’s and O’s... It’s not always the X’s and O’s. Sometimes it’s about putting people in the right spot to make them feel appreciated.”
💭 Miscellaneous
Parkinson’s Law (Source):
“As the Royal Navy steadily shrank in size (fewer ships and less actual work), the number of Admiralty officials grew—from 4,366 in 1914 (when Britain had the world’s largest navy) to 33,000 in 1967. The historian C. Northcote Parkinson distilled this into what is now known as “Parkinson’s Law”: work expands to fill the time available for its completion, showing how bureaucracies naturally grow and protect themselves regardless of the real workload.”
📺 Video
Steve Kerr: The Mind of a Champion | Grey Matter with Declan Kelly (34 minutes)
Steve Kerr details the power of mindfulness, establishing authentic values, and finding strength in humility. He shares how blending these mental frameworks with a deep competitive joy formed the foundation of a championship culture.
“You know, when you’re playing, you want to just be fluid and you want to go with the flow. But of course, you have to absorb enormous amounts of information and process things. And I think finding the balance in those things is really the key for not only any athlete, but any human being.”