The New York Knicks have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau, the team announced Tuesday.
Thibodeau won 56.5% of his regular-season games as Knicks head coach, going 226-174 overall over five seasons.
This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a press release.
“We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.
The Knicks lost both at home, and their starters lost their minutes by 29 points.
Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the New York Knicks, was fired, the team announced Tuesday. The decision was made three days after the Indiana Pacers defeated the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. In the offseason, the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns with six first-round picks, a first-round trade, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo, and they went into the season hoping to win their first championship since 1973. Though they had home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference finals, they ultimately missed out on making it to the NBA Finals, despite having their best postseason run since 2000.
Thibodeau went 226-174 overall in his five seasons as head coach of the Knicks, winning 56.5% of his regular-season games.
Our organization’s sole goal is to bring home a championship for our supporters. In a press release, Knicks president Leon Rose stated, “This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.”. “We are incredibly grateful to Tom for giving his all every day as the head coach of the New York Knicks. He has guided us to great success on the court over the last five seasons, including four playoff berths and four playoff series wins, in addition to leading us with poise and professionalism. In the end, we decided on the course of action we believe will benefit our company the most going forward. Our Knicks family will always include Tom, and we sincerely hope he has the best possible future. “,”.
In order to turn around a team that had missed the playoffs seven times in a row, the Knicks hired Thibodeau in 2020. He quickly changed that, winning Coach of the Year for a 2020–21 season in which the team finished 41–31. Jalen Brunson, a free agent, helped the Knicks make it to the second round in two consecutive seasons after missing the playoffs in 2022. The Knicks believed they had a cornerstone with Brunson in place and were prepared to put their all into the game.
Bridges was expected to join OG Anunoby as a second 3-and-D star for the 2024–25 season. Bridges played collegiately at Villanova with Brunson and fellow Knick Josh Hart. In the end, he had his worst season shooting three-pointers since his rookie year and saw a significant drop in defense. Towns thrived on offense, but he also proved to be a defensive problem on his own.
In the meantime, Thibodeau started to feel the effects of years of starting more players than any other coach. In March, Bridges stated in public that it’s not always “fun on the body” to play so many minutes. However, Thibodeau refused to give up, and as a result, the Knicks never built a solid bench.
Nor did they try out nearly enough lineups. Hart’s subpar shooting was one of the main issues that arose during the season. Defenses were positioning their centers on Hart to act as additional help-defenders, which prevented the Knicks from running pick-and-roll between Brunson and Towns. Deuce McBride was often mentioned as a shooter who the Knicks could have used to counter this by taking Hart’s spot in the lineup. But with McBride, the starters without Hart only appeared in 82 games during the regular season. Along with Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, and Bridges, the other Knicks played a total of just 91 possessions. Hart and his fellow starters played just under 1,900.
Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks coaching record.
Season-Reg. season-long playoff performance.
2020–21.
31–41.
lost the first round against… Hawks.
2021–2022.
37 to 45.
missed the playoffs. .
2022–2023.
47–35.
lost the second round against… Warmth.
2023-24.
50–32. .
lost the second round against… Pacers.
2024–2025.
51–31.
lost in the East finals against… Pacers.
The Knicks were a No. 1 seed going into the 2025 postseason. 3 seed, which was the highest ranking any Knicks team had obtained in over ten years. Although it wasn’t always simple, they defeated the Detroit Pistons in six games in the first round and then shocked the Boston Celtics, the reigning champions, in six games in the second. Boston’s defeat and the elimination of the 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers on the opposite side of the bracket gave New York the clearest route to the Finals in decades.
The Pacers, the eventual Eastern Conference champions, crushed those hopes, and Thibodeau is largely to blame for the series’ failures. Josh Hart privately suggested switching up the starting lineup during the Boston series, but Thibodeau chose to start the first two games against Indiana with the NBA’s most-used lineup.
The Knicks’ starters saw a 29-point drop in playing time as they lost both games at home. In the postseason, that unit was ultimately outscored by 31 points. In Game 1, they were on the court when the Knicks shockingly blew a nine-point lead in the closing minute, potentially costing them the series. As the series went on, Thibodeau made adjustments, even getting good minutes out of Delon Wright and Landry Shamet, who were rarely used as reserves. However, this raised more questions about why it took two losses before he initially used his bench. In six games, New York ultimately lost a series that they could have won.
Would the Knicks trade Karl-Anthony Towns for Kevin Durant? Linking the .s on a widely circulated rumor, plus who can say no?
Quinn, Sam.
After signing a contract extension last summer that would have lasted until the 2027–2028 season, Thibodeau leaves New York as the fourth-winning coach in Knicks history, behind Jeff Van Gundy, Joe Lapchick, and Red Holzman. The Knicks have a solid roster and a front office that has shown its mettle as they reenter the coaching market.
With the amount of coaching turnover in the league over the last few years, there should be no shortage of qualified applicants, and the position should be fairly appealing. But here, the standard is high. Thibodeau missed the title by six victories. Given that the Knicks are playing for a championship, whoever takes his place will do so with knowledge.
