The New York Knicks won 51 games in the 2024-25 season, the most for the franchise in 12 years. They also made the Eastern Conference Finals, marking the team’s deepest playoff run in 25 years. Yet on Tuesday, June 3, the team fired head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Was Thibodeau’s dismissal a surprise?
The move comes just three days after the Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers. The 67-year-old led the Knicks to the postseason four times in his five seasons and improved every year he was in charge. When asked after the series-ending Game 6 loss if he had the team to win a title, Thibodeau sounded like someone who believed he’d be back for a sixth season.
“(General Manager) Leon (Rose) and his staff, they analyze whether something makes sense and can improve our team,” Thibodeau said. “But we’re not just going to do something. It has to make sense. And we have to feel that it does improve the team.”
Despite back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time in 30 years, the Knicks brass did indeed do something. Thibodeau signed a three-year extension with the team just last summer and is still owed $20 million in guaranteed money.
What did the players say about the team’s future?
Superstar guard Jalen Brunson, whose father played with the Knicks when Thibodeau was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy, was asked if he thought his coach was the guy to lead them.
“Is that a serious question? Yes,” Brunson said. ”No one sees the type of people that we have, the workers that we have. That’s what gives me the confidence, and I’m okay with that. I don’t really care what people think about us on the outside. I know what we got.”
Other players like Josh Hart felt there was a good chance the team wouldn’t be back next season, in its entirety. “I feel like this team is good enough to make the next step,” Hart said. “But we know it’s a business, and when you don’t get to where you feel like you should have or could have, changes are made.”
What led to the firing?
Thibodeau, who had previous stints as a head coach in Chicago and Minnesota, has long been known as a defensive guru, but the Knicks had too many lapses against the Pacers. He’s also known for playing his starters big minutes –– just ask Bulls fans about star guard Derrick Rose.
Thibodeau played the Knicks’ starting five more minutes than any other starting group in the league. Back in March, guard Mikal Bridges had a disagreement with his coach that played out through the media, regarding the starters’ minutes. So perhaps his players simply ran out of gas in the playoffs.
In a statement Tuesday, general manager Leon Rose did not give a reason for Thibodeau’s dismissal.
“We made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward,” Rose said. “Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans. This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to move in another direction.”
