7 potential replacements for Tom Thibodeau as Knicks coach
Tom Thibodeau got fired on June 3 before the three-year extension he signed last summer could even begin. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
NEW YORK – Over the last five years, Tom Thibodeau won 226 regular-season games with the New York Knicks, or just 30 fewer than his six predecessors combined.
His 24 play-off wins were the most by a Knicks coach since Jeff Van Gundy and six more than New York recorded in the 20 years prior to his arrival.
And the Knicks' trip to the Eastern Conference Finals this spring was the first for the franchise since 2000.
But for all of that, Thibodeau got fired on June 3 before the three-year extension he signed last summer could even begin.
Here are a few candidates who might be tasked with finally winning the Knicks' first title since 1973.
Michael Malone, ex-Nuggets head coach
Nobody is better prepared for the crucible of New York than Malone. He spent two seasons as a Knicks assistant in the early 2000s and is the son of the late Brendan Malone, who had three different stints as a New York assistant. And no one understands the demands placed upon a head coach like Malone, who was fired by Denver with three games to go in the regular season despite winning a franchise-record 471 games as well as the Nuggets' lone NBA title in 2023.
Johnnie Bryant, Cavaliers assistant coach
Bryant was the associate head coach of the Knicks under Thibodeau for four years before moving to Cleveland in 2024. He is reportedly up for the Phoenix Suns gig, the only other current NBA opening, so Thibodeau's firing might have been a preemptive strike by Knicks management. Bryant would also provide a familiar face for the Knicks, whose lone assistant coach with NBA head coaching experience is Maurice Cheeks – who has not run a team since 2014.
Taylor Jenkins, ex-Grizzlies head coach
Like Malone, Jenkins was a surprise late-season firing despite an impressive track record in Memphis, where he won a franchise-record 250 games. His ability to cultivate young talent could be intriguing as the replacement for the famously vet-friendly Thibodeau.
Mike Brown, ex-Cavaliers, Lakers and Kings head coach
Brown coached LeBron James during the latter's first stint in Cleveland, so he knows all about dealing with strong personalities. He was also an assistant on three NBA champions with the Golden State Warriors before ending Sacramento's 16-year postseason drought in his first season at the helm in 2022-23.
Frank Vogel, ex-Pacers, Magic, Lakers and Suns coach
Like Brown, he has experience with winning in challenging situations. Vogel got the Pacers to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals in 2013-14 and led the Lakers to the title in the pandemic bubble before the impatient Suns fired him after one year.
Mike Budenholzer, ex-Hawks, Bucks and Suns head coach
His star dimmed when he was fired following the first season of a five-year deal with the Suns. But he can't be ruled out as part of a bid by the Knicks to land Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, though such a deal is unlikely given the Knicks' lack of first-round picks and tradable players.
Jeff Van Gundy, ex-Knicks and Rockets head coach
A long shot because it's been 18 years since he last served as a head coach. But Van Gundy, still somehow only 63 years old, is one of the few people who could give Thibodeau a run in the gym rat department, as he proved by taking an assistant's job with the Clippers this season following a successful broadcasting career. Plus – and this cannot be stated enough – as a former Knicks coach, Van Gundy would know what he's getting into. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Straits Times
Adam Silver: NBA ‘should be exploring' expansion
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Getty Images via AFP OKLAHOMA CITY – Commissioner Adam Silver has offered hope to cities looking to land an NBA franchise, saying on June 5 that the league 'should be exploring' expansion. He addressed the media in his annual state-of-the-league talk ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the host Oklahoma City Thunder. Regarding the addition of teams, Silver said: 'I don't think it's automatic, because it depends on your perspective on the future of the league. 'As I've said before, expansion in a way is selling equity in the league. If you believe in the league, you don't necessarily want to add partners. 'On the other hand, we recognise there are underserved markets in the United States and elsewhere – I think markets that deserve to have NBA teams. Probably even if we were to expand, more than we can serve.' In terms of potential expansion locations, he added: 'There's been no lack of interest. I essentially have said to people from several different cities, 'We're just not engaging in that process right now'. 'I want to be fair to everyone. So I don't want to have meetings with some and not others. So if we were to say yes, we're now going to move into a more formal exploratory phase... We would take those meetings, and in addition likely we would engage with outside advisers who would look at markets, look at economic opportunities and media opportunities, etc.' The NBA has not expanded since the then-Charlotte Bobcats joined ahead of the 2004-05 season. Las Vegas and Seattle are widely viewed as the top targets for future teams, with Mexico City potentially in the mix, too. Silver also addressed several other topics. 1. While a spate of regular-season injuries prompted speculation about the NBA cutting down the 82-game regular season, he dismissed the notion of a lighter schedule. 'Money's part of it, there's no question about it,' Silver said. 'We're a business. Having said that, I don't really see the benefit to reducing the number of games. People used to say you should reduce the number of games because it will lead to a reduction in a number of injuries. We have absolutely no data to suggest that. 'Injuries are considered down this play-offs from what has been historically our second-lowest in 10 years. So we have pretty healthy teams coming into the Finals now.' 2. After the success of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA is likely to switch to nationality-based format for the 2026 All-Star Game in Inglewood, California. 'I don't think a straight-up USA versus World makes sense,' Silver said. 'That's not what they did in the NHL, either. There probably will be some different teams we form.' Noting that the 2026 game will be played amid the Winter Olympics in Italy, he said: 'I think we can play off that nationalism. I think there's a real opportunity to create enhanced interest and enhanced competition from the players.' 3. Silver lauded the fact that the NBA is about to crown its seventh different champion in seven years. 'We set out to create a system that allowed for more competition around the league, the goal being to have 30 teams all in a position, if well-managed, to be competing for championships,' he said. 'And that's what we're seeing here. The goal isn't necessarily to have a different champion every year. It's to have, as we said before, parity of opportunity.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Straits Times
Tyrese Haliburton's last-second shot lifts Indiana Pacers over OKC Thunder in NBA Finals
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton makes the game-winning shot over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. PHOTO: REUTERS OKLAHOMA CITY – The NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder have tipped off, and they started in the most dramatic of ways on June 5. Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton sank the game-winning basket in the very last second to give the Pacers a stunning 111-110 fightback victory over Oklahoma City in the opening game of the best-of-seven series. Haliburton, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, crucially gave his team their only lead of the game on a dramatic 21-foot jump shot with 0.3 of a second remaining to deliver a shocker after Indiana had trailed by 15 points with 9min 42sec remaining. 'We got the stop and coach trusts us in those moments to not call a timeout, trusts me in those moments, guys trust me and just trying to make a play,' the star point guard said of the last shot. 'Basketball is fun, man, winning is fun,' he added during his on-court interview. 'That's a great win for us.' With a game-closing 14-2 run, the Pacers seized a 1-0 lead in series with Game 2 on June 8 (June 9, Singapore time), also at Oklahoma City. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points while reserve Obi Toppin added 17, Myles Turner had 15 and Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each added 14. 'It was a total team effort, we had so many guys chip in,' Haliburton said. 'Obi was huge off the bench, Myles in the fourth, Andrew Nembhard in the fourth – so many guys stepped up and just really proud of this group.' The finish evoked memories of the first game in the Eastern Conference Finals, when a Haliburton shot at the buzzer bounced high and went in to force overtime as the Pacers stunned the New York Knicks on the way to a 4-2 series victory. The Pacers are seeking the first NBA crown in their 58-year history while the Thunder, who took a title in 1979 as the Seattle Supersonics, have not won a crown since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008. Indiana overcame 24 turnovers and a 38-point performance by Oklahoma City's NBA Most Valuable Player and top season scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A 12-2 run pulled the Pacers within 98-94 with 6:16 remaining in the fourth quarter, with Turner and Toppin each making two three-pointers in the spurt. The Thunder, with the NBA's best regular-season record at 68-14, clung to the lead as Gilgeous-Alexander made a driving layup and added two free throws for a 106-98 edge with 3:24 left. Aaron Nesmith and Nembhard sank back-to-back three-pointers to lift Indiana within 108-105 with 1:59 remaining and after a layup by Gilgeous-Alexander, Nembhard made two free throws and Siakam scored off a rebound to lift the Pacers within 110-109. Nesmith rebounded a Gilgeous-Alexander miss to set up Haliburton's game-winning shot. 'We just had to figure out how to win in so many different ways all year,' Haliburton added. 'There's so many weird different ways and we're a resilient group... We keep believing and we stay together.' Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the first quarter and the Thunder forced nine turnovers on the way to a 29-20 lead. Oklahoma City surged to a 57-45 half-time lead with 19 points from 'SGA' while the Thunder, play-off leaders at forcing turnovers, got 18 from Indiana in the first half. The Pacers pulled within 85-76 entering the fourth quarter but a Jalen Williams slam dunk produced the Thunder's biggest lead at 94-79 with 9:42 remaining, setting up the intense finish. 'That's a really good team,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of the Pacers. 'Credit them for not only tonight but their run. They've had so many games like that that have seemed improbable. And they just play with a great spirit and they keep coming. They keep playing.' Oklahoma City lost their only previous NBA Finals appearance in 2012 to Miami while the Pacers dropped their only prior NBA Finals trip in 2000 to the Los Angeles Lakers. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
OKC Thunder bring all-for-one mentality to NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is planning for the challenge of slowing down the Indiana Pacers in a match-up of two of the NBA's highest-scoring teams in the Finals starting with Game 1 on June 5 (June 6, Singapore time). As he digs into the details, he knows that there is a difference between getting a feel for the opponents and the opponents making sure you feel them. 'We aren't inventing anything this week. They pump a 99-mph fastball at you, and you can prepare all you want for that,' Daigneault said. 'But when you're in the batter's box, it's different when it's time to hit. It's going to be a very tall challenge.' Oklahoma City feature two top on-ball defenders who will share the chore of shadowing Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton. He averaged 18.8 points and a leading 9.8 assists in the play-offs to reach the Finals and is the engine of a revving offence capable of attacking from many angles. Lu Dort defended Haliburton in two regular-season match-ups, both Thunder wins, and limited him to averages of 11 points and 5.5 assists. While the Thunder feature the NBA's leading scorer and Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the mentality of winning with defence and succeeding as a team are more than words to this young roster. 'Staying true to who we are is the reason we are here. We'd be doing ourselves a disservice to change or be something we are not once we got here,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'If we want to keep having success, we have to be who we are. It's organic, so it's nothing we have to think about or force. It's who we are no matter the moment.' Gilgeous-Alexander will get the majority of the attention from the Pacers' defence, but forward Chet Holmgren said Oklahoma City have seen plenty of that approach and are prepared for what is to come. The Thunder also claim they truly do not care how the points get on the board in Game 1 or beyond, as long as the team are putting up wins. 'I'd say the biggest thing is playing for each other,' Holmgren said. 'And the type of guys we have here. If you ask anybody, everybody is going to tell you they are a winner. We have a team with 17 winners. They're going to put winning at the top of the totem pole over anything else, really. Does that mean you are guaranteed to win every single night? No. But when that's the main focus. 'You aren't working towards anything else, then you are able to chase that (outcome) better than if you had a different perspective on it.' Perspective might be a challenge early in the series. Daigneault is matching up with Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who guided the 2011 Dallas Mavericks to the NBA title, with a group of 20-somethings in the Finals for the first time. He reminded his team to walk into the home arena grateful and was not afraid to reflect on the magnitude of the moment. 'Every single person that's participating in this... whether it's coaches, players, staff, there was a time in their life when this was just a dream,' he said. 'That's every player that's participating. There was a time they were in their driveway shooting, 1 on 0, with a basket counting down the end of the game. That's what makes it so special to be part of. We're all very humbled and grateful to be a part of it.' Meanwhile in other NBA news, commissioner Adam Silver has said that the 2026 NBA All-Star Game will feature a 'USA versus the World' format. The move comes after last February's revamped tournament-style format with celebrity-picked rosters was seen as a flop by players and drew relatively low US television ratings. Asked on Fox Sports One about having a USA against the World format for the elite-level contest, the first word out of Silver's mouth was 'Yes.' REUTERS, AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
