The New York Knicks went ahead with Tom Thibodeau, and here’s why
USA Today Sports’ Lorenzo Reyes explains why the Knicks chose to move on from head coach Tom Thibodeau after improving the franchise.
Sports Pulse
After crashing on the deepest run of a quarter-century, the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Knicks are looking for a new head coach.
The Knicks announced Tuesday that they were breaking up with Tom Thibodeau as coach. ESPN was the first to report news of Thibodeau’s firing, confirmed by USA Today Sports, prior to the official New York announcement.
Knicks President Leon Rose thanked Thibodeau in a statement, but said, “Our organization is focused on winning a fan championship. This pursuit has led to the difficult decision to let Tom Thibodeau know that he has decided to move in a different direction.”
The move will be less than a year as the Knicks inked Thibodeau into a three-year contract extension and were supposed to maintain the franchise throughout the 2027-28 season.
In five seasons with the Knicks, the 67-year-old Thibodeau recorded 226-174 records (.565) and led New York into the playoffs in those four seasons. This year marked the Knicks’ first reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 seasons, but the Knicks lost the first two games of the series at home before bowing in six games.
The Knicks made multiple winning offseason moves ahead of the 2024-25 season to compete with defending champions Boston Celtics and other top teams in the East. New York traded Julius Randle and Donte Divinsenzo for stretch center Carl Anthony Towns and dropped off the Wing Mikal Bridge pick.
The Knicks won 51 games and finished third in the meeting behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston.
New York ultimately faced the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, closing Boston in six games. The Knicks won the road in the first two games of the series, winning the series with a 38-point blow.
Despite losing out in the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York player expressed confidence that the team could compete for the NBA championship. Thibodeau recently received unwavering support from New York captain and biggest star Jalen Branson.
“Is that the real question now?” Branson said Saturday after the Pacers eliminated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. “Did you ask me if you believe he is the right guy? Yes. Come on.”
Despite that confidence, signs of unraveling New York in the postseason were concerns.
For one thing, the Knicks were repeatedly marked slowly and slowly through the first and second half, by slowing down energy and effort. Some of them fell into general struggles. The Knicks were also slow to adapt to the adjustments made by the opposing teams. After New York already lost the first two games of the series at home, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals tweaked the starting lineup and extended the bench to stretch fresh legs to match Indiana’s athleticism and pace.
Thibodeau is known as a demanding coach who has delved deep into his starter into the game.
After a March 12 match against the Trail Blazers (114-113 overtime victory), Bridge revealed to the reporter that he was approaching Thibodeau, asking the starter to reduce the amount he played. According to the New York Post, Bridges described Thibodeau as embracing change, but “I think sometimes he’s the way he does it.”
He spent 13 seasons as an NBA head coach, but Thibodeau has never been to a stop for more than five seasons. His first head coaching stint came to Chicago and he led the Bulls from 2010-15. Thibodeau oversaw three top three finishes in the Eastern Conference in five seasons with the Bulls.
However, a rift with the Chicago front office spelled Thibodeau’s fate as the Bulls, eventually firing him in May 2015.
Thibodeau was away from coaching the following season before the Timberwolves hired him in April 2016. He spent two and a half seasons in Minnesota before firing 40 games into the 2018-19 campaign.
Thibodeau is an NBA Coach of the Year Award recipient, with the 2010-11 season, the Bulls and the 2020-21 season, and the first time in New York with the Knicks.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
