The Knicks’ best season in 25 years wasn’t enough to save their coach’s job.
On Tuesday, the Knicks announced they had fired Tom Thibodeau.
The stunning move comes days after the Knicks were eliminated by the Pacers in the franchise’s first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals since 2000.
Thibodeau was the NBA’s fourth-longest tenured coach, having been hired in July 2020, and its oldest at 67 years old.
He led the Knicks to four playoff appearances in five seasons, winning four playoff series. The Knicks’ 51 wins this season were the most since the team won 54 games in the 2012–13 season, when Carmelo Anthony was the franchise player. He was named Coach of the Year in 2021.
Thibodeau was the first coach hired under agent turned team president Leon Rose, who joined the franchise in 2020.
ESPN reported Tuesday that the firing came from both Rose and owner James Dolan.
Under Rose, the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson and acquired Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, his former teammates at Villanova, before trading for Karl-Anthony Towns during training camp. The team upset the defending champion Celtics in the conference semifinals before falling to Indiana in a series that featured multiple blown leads.
Rose has been widely perceived as being able to operate without meddling from Dolan. In March, Dolan told Hart and Brunson on their podcast that he was not being as impulsive as he had been in the past.
“There were times when I sort of reached for that shiny sparkly object,” Dolan said. “‘Maybe this is what we need,’ especially when things were not going well. Let’s bring in this guy and maybe he’ll turn it all around for us. Sometimes it’s a player, sometimes it’s a coach, etc., and what I’ve learned over time is that doesn’t work. It really doesn’t.”
In July 2024, Thibodeau signed a three-year contract extension that would keep him on the sidelines through the 2027–28 season. The Knicks still owe Thibodeau $30 million off his recently signed extension, according to SNY.
His firing comes during a season in which multiple playoff teams fired their longtime coaches, including Michael Malone (Nuggets) and Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies). Either could potentially be a candidate to fill the lead seat in New York.
Thibodeau helped lead the franchise to its best playoff run since the Patrick Ewing era, for which he was an assistant coach. The current Knicks are deep on family ties, as Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father, played for Thibodeau on those teams.
In July 2024, Brunson gave the Knicks a hometown discount on his contract extension by leaving $100 million on the table to give the franchise cap flexibility in the coming seasons. The franchise currently has the NBA’s fourth-highest 2025–26 payroll ($199.8 million), while Towns and Bridges will be eligible for lucrative extensions this summer. In light of Jayson Tatum’s torn Achilles, the Knicks are able to return their entire roster next season and have another shot at a wide-open Eastern Conference. But the Knicks’ continuity won’t extend to the sidelines as they’re now looking for their seventh head coach in the last 10 years.
This developing news story has been updated.
