Knicks Part Ways with Head Coach Tom Thibodeau

The New York Knicks announced Tuesday they have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. This decision comes three days after the Knicks were eliminated from the Eastern Conference finals in six games by the Indiana Pacers.

Entering the season, the Knicks aimed for their first championship since 1973, having made significant offseason moves to acquire Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns using a package that included six first-round picks, a pick swap, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo. Despite achieving their deepest playoff run since 2000 and holding home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference finals, they ultimately fell short of reaching the NBA Finals.

Across five seasons leading the Knicks, Thibodeau compiled a regular-season winning percentage of 56.5%, with an overall record of 226-174.

In a press release, Knicks president Leon Rose stated, “Our organization is singularly focused on securing a championship for our fans. This pursuit necessitated the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we are moving in a different direction. We are immensely grateful to Tom for his dedication and passion as the New York Knicks head coach. For the past five seasons, he led us with class and professionalism, guiding the team to considerable success, including four playoff berths and four playoff series victories. Ultimately, we concluded this decision is what`s best for our organization`s future trajectory. Tom will always be a valued member of the Knicks family, and we sincerely wish him the very best.”

Thibodeau was hired in 2020 to coach a team that had not reached the playoffs in the preceding seven seasons. He immediately reversed this trend, earning Coach of the Year honors in the 2020-21 season with a 41-31 record. After missing the playoffs in 2022, the team advanced to the second round in back-to-back seasons, significantly aided by the arrival of Jalen Brunson. With Brunson established as a core player, the Knicks felt prepared to commit fully to contending.

Bridges, who played college basketball with Brunson and fellow Knick Josh Hart at Villanova, was expected to be a key 3-and-D player for the 2024-25 season alongside OG Anunoby. However, he experienced his worst 3-point shooting season since his rookie year and saw a notable decline in his defense. Towns, while strong offensively, proved to be a defensive liability.

Additionally, years of Thibodeau`s tendency to heavily rely on his starters began to show its effects. Bridges publicly mentioned in March that playing excessive minutes could be taxing. Despite this, Thibodeau maintained his approach, which some argue contributed to the Knicks` lack of a consistently reliable bench.

The team also seemed hesitant to experiment with diverse lineups. A persistent issue throughout the season was Josh Hart`s inconsistent shooting. This made it difficult to effectively run pick-and-rolls involving Brunson and Towns because opposing defenses could place their center on Hart, allowing them to provide extra help defense elsewhere. A potential adjustment would have been to substitute a strong shooter, like Deuce McBride, into Hart`s spot in key moments. However, the core starters (Brunson, Towns, Anunoby, Bridges) played very limited minutes with McBride (only 82 regular-season possessions) or other reserves (only 91 possessions combined with all other Knicks). In contrast, Hart played nearly 1,900 possessions alongside the other starters.

Tom Thibodeau Coaching Record with Knicks

The Knicks entered the 2025 postseason as the No. 3 seed, their highest seeding in over a decade. Despite challenges, they overcame the Detroit Pistons in six games in the first round and surprised the defending champion Boston Celtics in six games in the second. With Boston defeated and the 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated from the other side of the bracket, New York saw its clearest path to the NBA Finals in decades.

These aspirations were ended by the eventual Eastern Conference champions, the Indiana Pacers. Much of the blame for issues in that series has been attributed to Thibodeau. Despite reports of Josh Hart privately suggesting a starting lineup change during the Boston series, Thibodeau maintained the league`s most-used lineup for the initial two games against Indiana.

The Knicks lost both home games, with their starting unit being outscored by 29 points in those contests. That unit was ultimately outscored by a total of 31 points throughout the entire postseason. They were on the court when the Knicks lost a crucial nine-point lead in the final minute of Game 1, a loss that potentially cost them the series. Thibodeau did make adjustments later in the series, even getting productive minutes from rarely-used reserves like Landry Shamet and Delon Wright. However, this raised questions about why it took two losses before he turned to his bench. Ultimately, New York lost a series many believed was winnable in six games.

Thibodeau, who had signed a contract extension last summer reportedly running through the 2027-28 season, concludes his tenure as the fourth-winningest coach in Knicks history, behind only Red Holzman, Joe Lapchick, and Jeff Van Gundy. The Knicks now face the task of finding a new head coach with a strong roster and a proven front office.

The coaching position is expected to be highly desirable, with a pool of qualified candidates available due to recent coaching changes across the league. However, the standard is now quite high. Thibodeau came within six wins of a championship. Any replacement will step into the role knowing that the Knicks organization is firmly in a `championship-or-bust` mindset.