Knicks Surprise Fans by Firing Winning Coach Tom Thibodeau After Eastern Conference Finals Appearance

After leading the New York Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years, Tom Thibodeau's tenure with the team came to an end on Tuesday. The Knicks announced the decision to part ways with Thibodeau less than a week after their Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers. In a statement, the team thanked Thibodeau for his contributions but said the move was "best for our organization moving forward." Knicks President Leon Rose explained, "Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans. This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction." Thibodeau's firing comes as a massive surprise, considering the Knicks had a 51-win regular season, their highest win total in over a decade, and a deep playoff run. Despite falling behind 2-0 in the series against the Pacers, the Knicks fought back to win Game 3 and 5, but ultimately fell short in six games. Thibodeau signed an extension with New York as recently as 2024 and is owed at least $30 million as part of that deal, according to SNY's Ian Begley. In five seasons with the Knicks, Thibodeau posted a 226-174 record (.565), only three coaches in the franchise's history have won more games. Prior to joining the Knicks, Thibodeau spent time with both the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. He had an extremely successful run in Chicago, leading the team to playoff appearances in each of his five seasons. Despite a 50-32 record during the 2014-15 NBA season, the Bulls fired Thibodeau. He then joined the Timberwolves and led them to their first playoff appearance in 14 years during the 2017-18 NBA season. Given Thibodeau's success—he has a 578-420 record and has won the NBA's Coach of the Year award twice—he should be a highly-coveted option on the free-agent market. While Thibodeau has seemingly worn out his welcome with three separate franchises, his teams get results quickly. Despite his regular-season excellence, Thibodeau is still searching for his first NBA championship as a head coach. He should get another opportunity to achieve that goal following Tuesday's shocking firing.