Jalen Brunson breaks silence on Knicks' shocking Tom Thibodeau firing
Jalen Brunson has finally spoken. Kind of.
The superstar guard reacted Sunday on Instagram to the Knicks' firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday.
Brunson posted a photo of him with Thibodeau with a heart emoji, and another emoji of fingers crossing.
Brunson had publicly endorsed Thibodeau, who had three years left on his contract, last week after the Knicks were eliminated in six games by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Advertisement
It was the Knicks first trip to the conference finals in 25 years, but despite being the betting favorite ahead of Game 1, they failed to advance.
Jalen Brunson has publicly stood behind in support of Tom Thibodeau. NBAE via Getty Images
Asked if Thibodeau is 'the right guy' to take the Knicks to the next level — presumably a championship or at least the NBA Finals — Brunson appeared taken aback that the question had even been considered.
'Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he's the right guy,' Brunson said following the Knicks' 125-108 Game 6 loss to the Pacers on May 31.
'Yes. Come on,' he added.
Thibodeau, hired ahead of the 2020-21 season, was fired despite serving as the Knicks' most successful head coach this century.
Jalen Brunson posted this photo on Instagram, acknowledging Tom Thibodeau's firing. Getty Images
He coached 400 regular-season games with the Knicks, the fourth most in the organization's history, and became the first head coach to lead the team to at least four playoff trips within a five-year period since Jeff Van Gundy.
Advertisement
Thibodeau's four playoff trips are tied for the fourth most in Knicks history. Also, his 24-23 playoff record gives him the fourth-highest post-season winning percentage for the organization at 51.1 — the best mark of any head coach to not lead New York to the NBA Finals.
Only Red Holzman, Pat Riley and Van Gundy have definitively more decorated Knicks coaching tenures since the franchise's inception in 1947 with the introduction to the NBA, though some might also fight for the success of Joe Lapchick, who coached the team from 1948-1956.
The Knicks head coaching search is expected to pick up steam in the coming days as Thibodeau's eventual replacement is set to fill a void with immensepressure at the helm, unlike any we've seen from the franchise in at least a quarter century.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
11 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Pacers, back home in Indiana, have some things to figure out before Game 3 vs. Thunder in NBA Finals
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers simply couldn't wait to get home early Monday. There's a slew of possible reasons for that. Maybe they just wanted to get out of Oklahoma City with their split of the first two games in the NBA Finals . Maybe they couldn't wait to see what finals fever will look like in Indianapolis after a 25-year wait to get back to the title round. Or maybe they just wanted to get back to work. It's probably a little of everything — especially the last part. Yes, the Pacers are tied with the Thunder 1-1 after two games of the NBA Finals. For the lower-seeded team, that's huge; the Pacers took home-court advantage away by winning Game 1. But they know that if they don't take care of their own business at home, starting with Game 3 on Wednesday night, it'll be advantage Thunder again, just like that. 'We're going to have to be a lot better on Wednesday,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. That might sound like coaching hyperbole, but really, it isn't. The Pacers have yet to have anyone score 20 points in a game in these finals. They've led for a total — a total! — of 1 minute, 54 seconds in this series, or just under 2% of the time. (That's a major improvement over the 0.0001% that they led Game 1 for, in a winning effort, somehow.) And in Game 2 , the Thunder held the Pacers without a point in the paint for the entirety of the first quarter. Points in the paint isn't a stat that tends to jump off the page. It's possible that a lot of people didn't even notice. But consider this: Before Sunday night, more than nine years had passed since the Pacers didn't manage a single paint point in the first quarter of a game. 'We have to do a better job of getting to the paint,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'It's a lot easier said than done. ... Our offense is built from the inside-out, and we have to do a better job getting downhill. They collapse and make plays from there. I thought we could improve a lot there. But yeah, man, they are flying around. They have got great point-of-attack defenders and great rim protectors.' For a team that has now won 81 of its 100 games this season (not counting the NBA Cup final loss, since that doesn't figure into any records), the Thunder somehow tend to get overlooked on the defensive end. Oklahoma City handcuffed the Pacers in the first two games, daring Indiana to take 3-pointers and barely giving up anything easy around the rim. It starts with bothering Haliburton, which the Thunder have managed to do for the majority of the first two games. 'Most of the guys I guard have the ball most of the time,' said Thunder forward Luguentz Dort, who has drawn the assignment on Haliburton for much of the first two games. 'My main thing is to stay in front of him and make everything tough. He's a great player. He is going to make some tough shots and great reads, so I just have to stay in front of him.' No team gave up fewer paint points in the regular season than the Thunder. It truly is a clash of styles; the Pacers are averaging 46 paint points in their 13 wins in these playoffs as opposed to averaging 36 paint points in their five losses. 'I think we have been one of the better teams scoring in the paint all year and we have to establish that early,' Pacers forward Myles Turner said. 'I think we only had four or six points in the paint in the first half (of Game 2) and that's not Pacers basketball. When you live and die by that three or mid-range shots, it doesn't always fare well for you.' Maybe at home, things will be easier. The Pacers got a split in Oklahoma City; things could be much worse. And now, the Pacers have two days to try to find a way to respond to what the Thunder defense is taking away. 'We'll watch the film, see where we can get better,' Haliburton said. 'We know that the paint is our emphasis and the paint is our friend. The more that we're able to attack the paint, usually better things happen for us.' ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sports betting roundup: Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals each at 1-1 headed into Game 3s
Florida Panthers' Brad Marchand (63) scores the winning goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) as Leon Draisaitl (29) watches during the second overtime period in Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, June 6, 2025. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) The Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals have each played two games, and both series are knotted at a game apiece. In the NHL, the Panthers won a double-overtime game Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers to tie that series at 1-1 heading into Monday's Game 3 in Florida. Both games have gone to overtime. Advertisement In the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a Game 1 loss to even the series against the Indiana Pacers. Game 3 in that series is Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Trends of the Week After losing Game 1 to Indiana, Oklahoma City was an 11.5-point favorite in Game 2, and they comfortably covered, winning 123-107. At the BetMGM sportsbook, the Thunder took in 70% of the money, but only 37% of the bets. Since 2005, teams to lose as double-digit favorites in the NBA playoffs and be favored by 10 or more points in the next game are now 5-2 against the spread. Oklahoma City ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run to lead 26-20 after 12 minutes. This allowed the 4.5-point first quarter spread to cash, with 91% of the money coming in on the Thunder. Advertisement Following Edmonton taking Game 1 against Florida, the Oilers were -235 to win the Stanley Cup. Now, with Florida winning Game 2, Florida is a slight favorite to win at -115, with Edmonton coming in at -105. Upset of the Week At the French Open, Coco Gauff (+185) upset Aryna Sabalenka to win the women's title. Only 29% of the money was on Gauff to win. On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz came back from two sets down against Jannik Sinner to win a second straight French Open title. Alcaraz was +5000 live when he was down to sets. Ryan Fox won for the second time on the PGA Tour this season at the RBC Canadian Open. Fox beat Sam Burns on the fourth playoff hole after both players finished the event at 18 under. He was +5500 in pre-tournament winner betting, and took in only 0.8% of the bets and 1.7% of the money. Advertisement Coming Up NFL minicamps get underway this week and the Philadelphia Eagles remain the favorites to win the Super Bowl at +650. The Eagles are followed by the Baltimore Ravens at +700, the Buffalo Bills at +750 and the Kansas City Chiefs at +800. The Detroit Lions round out the top five at +1000. ___ This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook. ___ AP sports:
Associated Press
19 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Sports betting roundup: Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals each at 1-1 headed into Game 3s
The Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals have each played two games, and both series are knotted at a game apiece. In the NHL, the Panthers won a double-overtime game Friday night against the Edmonton Oilers to tie that series at 1-1 heading into Monday's Game 3 in Florida. Both games have gone to overtime. In the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a Game 1 loss to even the series against the Indiana Pacers. Game 3 in that series is Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Trends of the Week After losing Game 1 to Indiana, Oklahoma City was an 11.5-point favorite in Game 2, and they comfortably covered, winning 123-107. At the BetMGM sportsbook, the Thunder took in 70% of the money, but only 37% of the bets. Since 2005, teams to lose as double-digit favorites in the NBA playoffs and be favored by 10 or more points in the next game are now 5-2 against the spread. Oklahoma City ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run to lead 26-20 after 12 minutes. This allowed the 4.5-point first quarter spread to cash, with 91% of the money coming in on the Thunder. Following Edmonton taking Game 1 against Florida, the Oilers were -235 to win the Stanley Cup. Now, with Florida winning Game 2, Florida is a slight favorite to win at -115, with Edmonton coming in at -105. Upset of the Week At the French Open, Coco Gauff (+185) upset Aryna Sabalenka to win the women's title. Only 29% of the money was on Gauff to win. On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz came back from two sets down against Jannik Sinner to win a second straight French Open title. Alcaraz was +5000 live when he was down to sets. Ryan Fox won for the second time on the PGA Tour this season at the RBC Canadian Open. Fox beat Sam Burns on the fourth playoff hole after both players finished the event at 18 under. He was +5500 in pre-tournament winner betting, and took in only 0.8% of the bets and 1.7% of the money. Coming Up NFL minicamps get underway this week and the Philadelphia Eagles remain the favorites to win the Super Bowl at +650. The Eagles are followed by the Baltimore Ravens at +700, the Buffalo Bills at +750 and the Kansas City Chiefs at +800. The Detroit Lions round out the top five at +1000. ___ This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook. ___ AP sports:
