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The New York Knicks have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau following the team’s most successful season in a quarter century.
‘Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,’ President Leon Rose said in a statement. ‘This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.’
Rose went on to thank Thibodeau for ‘pouring his heart and soul into each and every day’ before adding the coach will ‘always be a part of our Knicks family.’
Rumors once circulated that Thibodeau was hired by the Knicks in 2020 despite owner James Dolan’s misgivings about the basketball journeyman. Thibodeau was a trusted assistant of former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was the last coach to bring New York to the NBA Finals before abruptly resigning in 2001 amid rumored front-office discord.
Including interim head coaches, the Knicks have been led by 14 individuals since Dolan became owner in the late 1990s.
Thibodeau, who reportedly has $30 million guaranteed remaining on his contact according to SNY’s Ian Begley, has often been criticized for overusing his starters. However, while media regularly focused on the issue, Knicks players didn’t complain about it in 2024-25 outside of an isolated comment from Mikal Bridges.
The Knicks have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau following the conference finals defeat
Knicks stars and ex-Villanova players (from left) Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges
New York swingman Josh Hart reacted to the move 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 last month: ‘Forever Grateful. Thank You!’
And support for Thibodeau extended from the Knicks bench all the way to celebrity row.
‘I am a Tom Thibodeau fan,’ diehard Knicks supporter, actor, director and comedian Ben Stiller wrote on X. ‘He brought this team back. I felt he gave every bit of himself and was always looking to improve. I will always be grateful for how far he brought the Knicks. They are relevant again. They are championship contenders again. The Knicks became winners again with him.
‘Thank you COACH THIBS.’
This season the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, but were ultimately upset by the Indiana Pacers in six games.
In fact, the Knicks reached the playoffs in four of five seasons under Thibodeau, who led the team to its first back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since the 1990s. This came after the Knicks failed to reach the playoffs in seven seasons prior to Thibodeau’s arrival.
Thibodeau finishes his career in New York with a .511 winning percentage, which ranks fourth in team history behind Red Holzman, Pat Riley and his former boss, Van Gundy. Remarkably, Thibodeau has the highest career winning percentage (.579) of any coach who hasn’t reached an NBA Finals.
Thibodeau was an assistant under Riley and Van Gundy in the late 1990s and early 2000s before joining Van Gundy with Houston and working with Doc Rivers in Boston. Ultimately Thibodeau was given the Chicago Bulls head-coaching job in 2010, and has since coached the Minnesota Timberwolves as well.
Josh Hart (far left), Jay Wright (center left) and Jalen Brunson (center right) celebrate
As reported by The Athletic’s James Edwards III , players and coaches grew frustrated with Towns’ lackluster defensive habits. Perhaps more worrisome: Towns never fixed the problems
There are a number of well-known candidates who could conceivably replace Thibodeau, including fired Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who was born in New York and led Denver to an NBA title in 2023.
One surprising candidate did toss his hat into the ring on Tuesday: Metta World Peace.
The mercurial former NBA forward born Ron Artest played briefly for the Knicks at the end of his career, but is better known as a Queens native and former St. John’s star, in addition to his turbulent tenure in the Association.
‘Metta is the perfect choice for head coach of the @nyknicks,’ he wrote on X in third person.
Meanwhile, Knicks fans immediately seized on a different name: two-time national champion and former Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
The Knicks are, of course, heavily tied to the Wildcats after adding several of Wright’s former players in Jalen Brunson, Hart, Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo, the latter of whom was traded to Minnesota in the deal for Karl-Anthony Towns before the season.
Now Towns is rumored to be on the trade block with the Knicks – and many other NBA teams – expected to pursue Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason.
As reported by The Athletic’s James Edwards III, players and coaches grew frustrated with Towns’ lackluster defensive habits. Perhaps more worrisome, Towns didn’t seem to understand the importance of fixing the problems, according to Edwards’ sources.
