Knicks Coach Reveals Goal For International Exhibition

After about four months wandering in the basketball desert, New York Knicks fans will get a bit of a deluge this week.

New York unofficially tips off the 2025-26 NBA season with a pair of exhibitions against the Philadelphia 76ers in Abu Dhabi. Speaking before the departure, Knicks head coach Mike Brown hopes his group will "have some fun" as it engages in an exotic business trip, planning to mix business with pleasure amidst the desert duels at Etihad Arena.

“We're going to go over there, we're going to work, but this is a great opportunity to bond and hang out, get to know one another, get to know each other's families," Brown said, per Steve Popper of Newsday. "The NBA is a global game, and so you embrace anything that comes your way and, for us, I know, for me personally, I've never been to that part of the world, and so I'm looking forward to it."

Of the Knicks' desert-bound contingent, Brown would be in the best position to benefit from bonding: the newly-minted head coach is the most prominent newcomer to the Knicks' latest affair, which is looking to build upon last year's long-sought visit to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks and Sixers both get a bit of a head start on their competitors, as the round trip will be completed before most other teams take the floor.

That benefit, Brown said, will make up for the fact that the Knicks are racking up a few extra hundred miles to play preseason games, their first showings beyond North American borders since a regular season clash with the Milwaukee Bucks was staged in London at the onset of 2015.

"They got to go through those challenges and then some people look at it as we get to start earlier than teams that aren’t going," Brown noted, per Popper. "So we may have an advantage there. So at the end of the day it all washes out.”

Amidst the morale-boosting, the Knicks do have some business to handle, particularly among the newcomers: Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele should easily slide into the team rotation while a battle for the final roster spot is headlined by accomplished depth star Malcolm Brogdon's showdown with incumbent second unit standout Landry Shamet.