NEW YORK: The New York Knicks hired two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as their new head coach on Monday.

The 55-year-old was dismissed by the Sacramento Kings last December after serving just over two seasons as head coach. His previous coaching stints include leading the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010 and the Los Angeles Lakers from 2011 to 2012, compiling a career coaching record of 454 wins and 304 losses.

“After a thorough and extensive search process, we are pleased to announce Mike Brown as the head coach of the New York Knicks,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Mike has coached on the biggest stages in our sport and brings championship pedigree to our organization.”

The Knicks conducted an extensive search to find someone to replace Tom Thibodeau. They sought interviews with several current NBA head coaches, including Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks), Chris Finch (Minnesota Timberwolves), and Ime Udoka (Houston Rockets), but were denied permission by those teams. They also interviewed South Carolina’s championship-winning women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley for the position.

The Knicks offered the head coaching job to Mike Brown last week and officially announced on Monday that he would be taking charge of a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season for the first time in 25 years. While the terms of Brown’s deal were not disclosed, he joins the team with hopes of winning its first championship since 1973.