Mike Brown turned a 2000 pop hook into one of the funniest side stories of the Knicks’ championship run, and the Baha Men are fully on board.
The song followed Brown from Finals media day to the title celebration.
Now the band behind it has given him its blessing.
Mike Brown gets validated by the Baha Men for his use of the song
SNY Knicks shared a statement from Baha Men lead vocalist Rik Carey, who said the group loved seeing Brown lean into the song throughout the postseason.
“I don’t blame Coach Mike Brown at all – at all! The spirit compelled him to, same as the team, and to be totally honest, I am very happy for Coach Brown and the Knicks too! At the end of the day the best team won and nothing is sweeter than this victory, the first in 53 years. Jalen Brunson came to the Knicks and now he’s a superstar. We know what it’s like to be underestimated by many naysayers, having to work hard, toiling for years to achieve a recognizable goal. Seeing him excel to greatness is a joy for us to watch. So on behalf of the nine members of Baha Men, we all wish the New York Knicks a sincere and heartfelt congratulations on the big, well-deserved win!”
Brown first revived the track during Finals media day, telling reporters about coaching his son’s first-grade flag football team in San Antonio and using it to fire up the kids and parents.
The callback kept growing. After the Knicks closed out the Spurs in Game 5, Brown brought it back in the locker room while holding his child. He later leaned into it again during the title parade and on The Tonight Show.
Mike Brown’s title journey took more than 20 years
That joy hits harder because Brown’s head-coaching breakthrough took so long.
He began as an NBA assistant in the late 1990s, won a title on Gregg Popovich’s Spurs staff in 2003, then reached the 2007 Finals as LeBron James’ coach in Cleveland. That Cavaliers team was swept by San Antonio.
There were more stops after that: the Lakers, a second Cavaliers stint, three assistant titles with Golden State, then Sacramento, where he won Coach of the Year after ending the Kings’ playoff drought before being fired in 2024.
The Knicks hired him in 2025, and one season later, he was the coach ending a 53-year wait. Brown has rings as an assistant, but this one belonged to him.
That is why the song works and is important to Brown. The Knicks finally let decades of frustration out, and Brown got to celebrate a title that had been two decades in the making.
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