The New York Knicks have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after the crew’s most profitable season in 1 / 4 century ended with an Jap Convention Finals upset to the Indiana Pacers.
‘Our group is singularly targeted on profitable a championship for our followers,’ President Leon Rose stated in a press release. ‘This pursuit led us to the troublesome resolution to tell Tom Thibodeau that we have determined to maneuver in one other course.’
Rose went on to thank Thibodeau for ‘pouring his coronary heart and soul into each day’ earlier than including the coach will ‘all the time be part of our Knicks household.’
Rumors as soon as circulated that Thibodeau was employed by the Knicks in 2020 regardless of proprietor James Dolan’s misgivings concerning the basketball journeyman. Thibodeau was a trusted assistant of former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was the final coach to convey New York to the NBA Finals earlier than abruptly resigning in 2001 amid rumored front-office discord.
Together with interim head coaches, the Knicks have been led by 14 people since Dolan grew to become proprietor within the late Nineteen Nineties.
Thibodeau, who reportedly has $30 million assured remaining on his contact in response to SNY’s Ian Begley, has usually been criticized for overusing his starters. Nevertheless, whereas media usually targeted on the difficulty, Knicks gamers did not complain about it in 2024-25 exterior of an remoted remark from Mikal Bridges.
The Knicks have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau following the convention finals defeat
Knicks stars and ex-Villanova gamers (from left) Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges
New York swingman Josh Hart reacted to the transfer on social media by expressing his appreciation for the 67-year-old Thibodeau, who guided the Knicks to a second-round upset of the defending-champion Boston Celtics final month: ‘Endlessly Grateful. Thank You!’
And help for Thibodeau prolonged from the Knicks bench all the best way to superstar row.
‘I’m a Tom Thibodeau fan,’ diehard Knicks supporter, actor, director and comic Ben Stiller wrote on X. ‘He introduced this crew again. I felt he gave each little bit of himself and was all the time trying to enhance. I’ll all the time be thankful for how far he introduced the Knicks. They’re related once more. They’re championship contenders once more. The Knicks grew to become winners once more with him.
‘Thanks COACH THIBS.’
This season the Knicks reached the Jap Convention Finals for the primary time since 2000, however had been in the end upset by the Pacers in six video games.
In actual fact, the Knicks reached the playoffs in 4 of 5 seasons beneath Thibodeau, who led the crew to its first back-to-back 50-win seasons for the primary time because the Nineteen Nineties. This got here after the Knicks failed to achieve the playoffs in seven seasons previous to Thibodeau’s arrival.
Thibodeau finishes his profession in New York with a .511 profitable proportion, which ranks fourth in crew historical past behind Crimson Holzman, Pat Riley and his former boss, Van Gundy. Remarkably, Thibodeau has the very best profession profitable proportion (.579) of any coach who hasn’t reached an NBA Finals, in response to ESPN.
Thibodeau was an assistant beneath Riley and Van Gundy within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s earlier than becoming a member of Van Gundy with Houston and dealing with Doc Rivers in Boston. In the end Thibodeau was given the Chicago Bulls head-coaching job in 2010, and has since coached the Minnesota Timberwolves as effectively.
Josh Hart (far left), Jay Wright (heart left) and Jalen Brunson (heart proper) have a good time
As reported by The Athletic’s James Edwards III , gamers and coaches grew annoyed with Cities’ lackluster defensive habits. Maybe extra worrisome: Cities by no means fastened the issues
There are a selection of well-known candidates who might conceivably change Thibodeau, together with fired Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who was born in New York and led Denver to an NBA title in 2023.
One stunning candidate did toss his hat into the ring on Tuesday: Metta World Peace.
The mercurial former NBA ahead born Ron Artest performed briefly for the Knicks on the finish of his profession, however is healthier often called a Queens native and former St. John’s star, along with his turbulent tenure within the Affiliation.
‘Metta is the proper selection for head coach of the @nyknicks,’ he wrote on X in third individual.
In the meantime, Knicks followers instantly seized on a special identify: two-time nationwide champion and former Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
The Knicks are, after all, closely tied to the Wildcats after including a number of of Wright’s former gamers in Jalen Brunson, Hart, Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo, the latter of whom was traded to Minnesota within the deal for Karl-Anthony Cities earlier than the season.
Now Cities is rumored to be on the commerce block with the Knicks – and plenty of different NBA groups – anticipated to pursue Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo within the offseason.
As reported by The Athletic’s James Edwards III, gamers and coaches grew annoyed with Cities’ lackluster defensive habits. Maybe extra worrisome, Cities didn’t appear to know the significance of fixing the issues, in response to Edwards’ sources.
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