Isaiah Stewart at Pistons shootaround for first time since injury ahead of Game 6 vs Knicks
Isaiah Stewart at Pistons shootaround for first time since injury ahead of Game 6 vs Knicks
Isaiah Stewart at Pistons shootaround at team's practice facility for first time since his Game 1 injury, the morning of Game 6 vs Knicks, May 1, 2025.
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New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
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. Advertisement 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. 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 Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. 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. Advertisement 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 immense pressure at the helm, unlike any we've seen from the franchise in at least a quarter century.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
"I told Jordan he was overrated, I rooted against him his whole career" - Jalen Rose opens up about hating Michael Jordan and the Bulls
"I told Jordan he was overrated, I rooted against him his whole career" - Jalen Rose opens up about hating Michael Jordan and the Bulls originally appeared on Basketball Network. Growing up supporting a particular NBA franchise means you're married to its history. It means the highs and lows of the organization are ingrained in your memory, and the good times pulsate through your veins as if you were on the court yourself. For Detroit native Jalen Rose, that was his reality. Rose grew up a diehard Detroit Pistons fan and rode the waves of their struggles and success. Advertisement Throughout his childhood and into his teenage years, Detroit basketball was his everything. He was lucky enough to witness their back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, as well as their heated rivalry with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. So when the Pistons famously decided to leave the court early and not shake the Bulls' hands in 1991, Rose personally felt part of that walk-off. The Pistons' hatred towards the Bulls continued to manifest itself within Rose even as a professional himself, so much so that he made it his mission to root against Jordan his whole career. Dissing Mike It's one thing to dislike MJ, but it's an entirely different story to insult him to his face. Rose grew up during the toughest, most ruthless era in NBA history, meaning that even someone with the stature of Jordan didn't intimidate him in the slightest. Given his history against his hometown team, squaring up with "His Airness" actually invigorated Rose by lighting a competitive fire inside him. Advertisement Now, it's important to highlight that even Rose himself knew he wasn't close to Jordan's level during his NBA career, but that didn't stop him from verbally berating the Bulls icon during their meetings, questioning his greatness, and wishing for his failure. "I told Jordan he was overrated," Rose said. "Part of my ego makes me want to think I was a part of the Bad Boys Pistons team, but I actually didn't get a uniform, so when they walked off and didn't shake the Bulls hands, I felt that that was everything to me. I rooted against him his whole career, hoping that I made it to the NBA, and now I'm in the league, and there he goes." Humble pie Of course, the great ones are sought out by everyone because they're just that — great. No one is personally coming after role players, and Rose isn't making it his personal agenda to affront the likes of Craig Hodges, Bill Cartwright, or BJ Armstrong. He despised Jordan because he ended the most successful period in Pistons franchise history, and the distaste between the two teams was enough to fester for Jalen in the years that followed. Advertisement But there comes a point in every athlete's life where they have to tip their hat to greatness and acknowledge that they are competing against arguably the best that's ever lived. Rose and MJ faced off 21 times in their respective careers, with Jordan coming away victorious on 13 occasions to Rose's 8. They won three games apiece against each other in the postseason, which is a nice record on Rose's part. Still, "His Airness" did averaged over 25 points and five rebounds when they went head-to-head, including a 41-point explosion in May of 1998. While Rose was a serviceable and respected player in the league, there was a vast distance between them as players, and eventually, Rose had to swallow some humble pie and admit MJ was the greatest player of all time. "He won two separate three-peats and he won finals MVP every single time. I could give you all kinds of stats, but what I just said will never be duplicated. Yeah, he is the GOAT," he admitted. Advertisement Related: Jermaine O'Neal recalls the moment he realized Klay Thompson and Steph Curry were special: "If it hit the rim, it don't count" Growth and maturity In more ways than one, Rose's admission perfectly represents what young players go through in the Association. They enter as wide-eyed, raw talents with no experience and must find their place in the league. They battle the unknowns and bring their past trauma and feelings about certain teams and players along for the ride. Whether players idolize or despised a player matters in their ultimate makeup and plays a role in shaping how they view the league and approach their careers. Advertisement Rose used his hatred for the Bulls and Jordan as motivation and never forgot where he came from. As he matured throughout the years, he understood that those feelings would always come to the surface, but humility was also an important ingredient in his success. Unfortunately, for some, this maturation process comes far too late. Often, they've since left the league and can only look back on their time and mull over what they could have done differently. Every season, we see media and podcast appearances from former players who openly admit the mistakes they made on and off the court during their career. The roles they couldn't accept, the fights they should've avoided, the choices they wish they could take back, and all the regrets that come with playing a professional sport and trying to juggle your ego. In Rose's case, he still has no regrets about what he said to Jordan in the heat of battle, but to his credit, he also recognizes he was up against the best to ever do it. Advertisement Related: "That's something that I can't say really can be established" - Why Michael Jordan refused to accept being put above other all-time greats This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox Sports
7 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright not interested in Knicks head coach job
Jay Wright will not be the next head coach of the New York Knicks. The former Villanova men's basketball head coach has informed the Knicks that he's not interested in succeeding Tom Thibodeau and will remain retired, he told Sports Illustrated. Wright added in his comments to Sports Illustrated that he and Knicks president Leon Rose briefly discussed the position. Even though he and Rose are good friends, Wright reiterated his plans to remain retired as he never asked to interview for the vacancy. In the moments after Thibodeau was fired, Wright was immediately viewed as a top candidate to replace him. He coached three of the Knicks' top players in college, winning multiple national championships with guard Jalen Brunson and forward Mikal Bridges. He also won a national title coaching wing Josh Hart. However, some insiders viewed the Knicks' chances at obtaining the two-time national championship-winning head coach as a bit of a long shot. "Jay Wright is enjoying red wine, basketball, television and his family," FOX Sports college basketball expert John Fanta recently said on "The Herd." "If he wanted to coach again, he'd be the Villanova coach. "Jay Wright is not going anywhere." Wright, 63, announced his retirement from Villanova after leading the Wildcats to the Final Four in 2022. That marked his fourth Final Four trip as Villanova's head coach, winning eight Big East regular-season titles and five Big East Tournament titles to go with his two national championship victories. Wright is one of multiple coaches with Big East ties who have said they don't plan to pursue the Knicks' head coach gig. St. John's coach Rick Pitino, who coached the Knicks for two seasons in the late 1980s, said he was "absolutely not" interested in becoming New York's next head coach. UConn's Dan Hurley, meanwhile, sidestepped a question about his possible interest in the job. In addition to those three, a pair of other rumored Knicks candidates seem unlikely to interview for the job. New York has reportedly expressed interest in Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. But after capturing the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference during the 2024-25 season, the Rockets aren't interested in letting the Knicks potentially negotiate a deal and trade involving Udoka, per The Athletic . As for Kidd, the Knicks reportedly planned to ask the Mavericks for permission to interview their head coach. However, the Mavericks are expected to turn down any request the Knicks make to interview Kidd, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported Saturday. Beyond those five candidates, former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone and current Cleveland Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant have been viewed as possibilities for the Knicks' head coach job. Bryant is the current betting favorite for the job, while Malone has the second-best odds, via DraftKings Sportsbook. Bryant, who was the Knicks' associate head coach from 2020-24, was one of the finalists for the Phoenix Suns' head coach vacancy, but they named fellow Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as their next head coach on Friday. Malone, who grew up near Madison Square Garden in Queens, was fired by the Nuggets with less than a week to go in the regular season. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! recommended Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
