The New York Knicks’ decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau has yet to work with many people around the NBA community.
After all, Tom Thibodeau made his first appearance in the 2025 NBA playoffs in the conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
But the rift between Coach Thibodeau and his Knicks players was when the organisation said goodbye to him after a five-year partnership.
Since the news, decisions have been filled with mixed reactions. Some believe the Knicks are right to fire Coach Tib, while others have called the franchise. Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers falls into the latter category.
Looking at the longest NBA head coach list, it feels like there’s no longer a time when teams trusted them to turn things around.
In fact, when he was told he is currently the 12th longest serving head coach in the NBA, Rivers was shocked by Bill Simmons’ podcast.
“Someone said I’m 12. When you think about it, it’s insane. It’s nuts,” Rivers said.
Rivers then spoke about the feeling of being fired because he faced that decision three times during his coaching career.
“It’s difficult to fire. I’ve been fired three times, especially when it happened to one of your guys, my guys are Tib, Ty Lu.
“You know what they are. They’re both incredible coaches,” he added.
To put things in perspective, the Rivers were hired by the Bucks in the middle of the 2023-24 NBA season. Given that he coached the team in less than two full seasons, he speaks volumes about how quickly NBA teams lose faith in modern coaches.
Rivers has been the head coach of the NBA since the 1999-00 season. Clearly, he has seen a change in how the team treats head coaches right in front of him.
But are all the teams feeling anxious and fired their coaches? Certainly not.
“I’ve always used Utah models. Utah’s good stay for so long, they didn’t panic. They didn’t fire Jerry Sloan because they couldn’t reach the final. They knew he could coach,” Rivers continued.
“There’s a certain franchise. Boston is really the Celtics, and they don’t make any changes if they think they have the right coach, a good coach.
“They know they can scout better, so they’re right, they know exactly what they’re looking for, so they’ll draft better, they can make the deal better,” Rivers further strengthened his claim.
So, what do you think Rivers is finally firing Knicks coach Thibodeau?
“I thought the Knicks were heading towards that, but now Tibbs is gone,” the Bucks coach concluded.
With Coach Tibbs gone, the Knicks rarely managed to find a replacement for him, did Top Brass make a mistake? Only time can be seen.