Knicks fire coach Tom Thibodeau after Eastern Conference finals berth, AP source says

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2 days ago

Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Thibodeau just took the New York Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals, the deepest playoff march in 25 years for a franchise that re-emerged as a contender after he became their coach.
For that, he was fired.
The Knicks decided to move on from Thibodeau on Tuesday, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.
The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers with a loss in Game 6 on Saturday night, falling two games short of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. It was the fourth postseason trip in his five seasons in New York for Thibodeau, who was then asked what the Knicks needed to do this summer to go further.
'Like you would do after every season, you take a step back, I think decompress,' Thibodeau said. 'You do a deep dive on the team and then you analyze what you think you need to improve upon.'
The Knicks decided it was the coach.
The move was made by team president Leon Rose with approval from owner Jim Dolan, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The firing was first reported by ESPN.
It's a strange decision by the Knicks, who had been one of the league's worst franchises for most of the 2000s until Thibodeau was hired in 2020. He promptly led the Knicks to the playoffs in his first season, winning his second NBA Coach of the Year award, and they have been a solid contender in the East in recent seasons. They gave Thibodeau a three-year contract extension last summer.
Their big breakthrough came in 2024-25, when they knocked off defending champion Boston in the second round to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000 — when Thibodeau was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy.
After they were eliminated Saturday, captain Jalen Brunson expressed his support for Thibodeau, bristling at a question about whether he believed the coach was right for the team.
'Is that a real question right now?' Brunson said. 'You just asked me if I believe that he's the right guy? Yes. Come on.'
Three days later, Thibodeau was gone despite a 226-174 record in New York. He has the fourth-most wins by a Knicks coach.
Thibodeau faced criticisms that his hard-driving style and overreliance on his starters wore down his players, the same ones that have followed him since the beginning of his head coaching career in Chicago. But his ways seemed to be working in New York.
And even among the celebrities that filled Madison Square Garden, Thibodeau's gruff style was a natural fit for fans who longed for the defense-driven success of the 1990s.
'I am a Tom Thibodeau fan. He brought this team back,' actor Ben Stiller, who watched the postseason run from his courtside seat, wrote on X. 'I felt he gave every bit of himself and was always looking to improve. I will always be grateful for how far he brought the Knicks. They are relevant again. They are championship contenders again. The Knicks became winners again with him.'
The Knicks hadn't won a playoff series since 2013 but now have done it in three straight seasons. They went 50-32 in 2023-24 and followed that with a 51-31 record this season, having loaded up in the offseason by trading for All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.
But the person said the organization felt there was a need for a new voice when the Knicks try again to end their lengthy championship drought. They won their second and last title in 1973.
Thibodeau is well aware of their history, having grown up as a Knicks fan in Connecticut before joining the organization as an assistant coach in 1996.
He went on to help the Boston Celtics win the 2008 NBA title as an assistant, earning a reputation as one of the league's top defensive minds, before finally getting a chance as a head coach with the Bulls in 2010-11. He went 62-20 in his first season, earning his first Coach of the Year award.
Thibodeau, who spent five seasons with the Bulls and also coached Minnesota, is 578-420 as a head coach.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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