New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was not on the same page as the players last season, was not on the same page, according to NBA insiders.
The New York Knicks had their most successful season of 25 years, but fired Tom Thibodeau. They played the Eastern Conference Finals and beat the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the playoffs, but the Knicks’ ownership felt that Thibodeau had no advantage as a head coach to win the team.
Instead, they hired Mike Brown. Brown led the Sacramento Kings to a third seed in his recent tenure as head coach. He is respected around the NBA as an elite basketball heart, and goes back to his time with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach.
According to NBA Insiders, New York needed a new start.
Thibodeau was an old-fashioned coach. He worked hard on his players both in real life and in the game and had defensive outlook. His methods led to success. He was named Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2021.
Thibodeau became the fastest coach in NBA history to win 100 career wins in 2012, and was second in his career to make appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Despite these achievements, he didn’t see any eye against Mikal Bridges, who signed a $150 million contract this offseason. That may be the key reason why the Knicks fired Thibodeau.
On the Ringer NBA show, insider Fred Katz explained:
“I don’t think Thibs really did well with Mikal Bridges. I don’t think basketball was optimized.”
Knicks star Jalen Branson loved Thibodeau. His work ethic and desire to win were perfectly consistent with his head coach’s ethics. That was almost unanimously a case between the 2023-24 Knicks. However, last season’s team was the most successful in a quarter century, but everything wasn’t too late behind the scenes.
Katz continues. “Tivs was a great coach for Jalen Branson, a great coach for Donte Divinsenzo, and I don’t think he was a great coach for Mikal Bridge.
“When you have that dynamic every year, I think the Knicks felt they needed a change there.”
Thibodeau’s biggest criticism was the distribution of minutes throughout the season. He has consistently played a starter for a long time throughout the season. This could burn out in the playoffs.
The Knicks’ start five last season led the NBA in a total of minutes as a unit. The Bridges led the league in a total of 3036 in 2024-25. This extreme example of Thibodeau’s minutes provides insight into why Bridge didn’t make eye contact with the head coach.
Katz said, “There were a few things in the minutes of Tib. I was like, ‘It’s okay, that’s a lot.’ I will never forget that I took part in the Knicks-Hornets game in December when Knicks turned 24. It was one of the games where the Knicks took a big lead early and just finished in the first quarter.
“The Knicks are 24 with 1:30 left, and Tibbs is pulling Mikal Bridge. It was the first time he’d pulled him in the entire game. He played for 46 and a half consecutive minutes, and the Knicks added 24 minutes.
Bridges called out Thibodeau for playing too many of his starters. In March, he said, “It’s not funny to the body at times. You’re not only hoping for it as a coach, but also talking to him a bit, knowing there’s enough team that doesn’t have to come and play 48, 47.”
Ironically, this season hasn’t become a Knicks issue. They were one of the healthiest teams of the postseason and had deep playoff runs. But losing to the Pacers was an unacceptable outcome for a season, proven by the Knicks’ coaching changes.