After their most successful postseason in a quarter-century, the New York Knicks announced on Tuesday that they have dismissed head coach Tom Thibodeau.
The move comes just days after the Knicks were eliminated in six games by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite the loss, New York had exceeded expectations during the playoffs, toppling the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the second round and doing so with a recently restructured roster.
Earlier this season, Thibodeau passed Pat Riley on the Knicks’ all-time wins list, placing him fourth in franchise history. He had guided the team to consecutive 50-win campaigns—their first since 1995—and had been the franchise’s most successful coach in over twenty years. Just last offseason, the Knicks had extended his contract by three years.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” said team president Leon Rose in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. 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.“… Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
Thibodeau’s ties to the Knicks date back decades, to his time as an assistant on Jeff Van Gundy’s staff in the 1990s. One of his current assistants, Rick Brunson, played on those Van Gundy-coached teams and would often bring his son, Jalen Brunson—now the face of the franchise—to team practices.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, more than 30 NBA teams have made head coaching changes following runs to the conference or NBA Finals.
Following New York’s final playoff loss, reporters asked Jalen Brunson about his coach’s status. He replied, “Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy? Yes. Come on.”
The Knicks pulled off a surprising series win over Boston despite being swept by the Celtics during the regular season—three of those losses by double figures—and playing with a lineup that had undergone significant change.
Ahead of the playoffs, the front office made aggressive moves, trading five first-round picks to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges, then sending Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. While those trades impacted their bench depth, they resulted in one of the league’s most formidable starting units.
True to his reputation, Thibodeau leaned heavily on his starters, keeping them on the floor longer than any other group in the NBA this season—despite the broader trend toward rest and load management across the league.
Thibodeau had previously held head coaching roles with the Chicago Bulls from 2010 to 2015 and the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2016 to 2019 before landing in New York.
With a career winning percentage of .579, Thibodeau holds the distinction of having the best record among coaches who have never reached the NBA Finals, according to data from ESPN Research.

{Matzav.com}