Knicks part ways with HC Tom Thibodeau after Eastern Conference finals run

After leading the New York Knicks to their best season in 25 years, Tom Thibodeau’s time as head coach has come to an end. The Knicks have relieved Thibodeau of his duties as head coach, the team announced on Tuesday.

Thibodeau, 67, helped oversee the Knicks’ turnaround in recent years. He coached New York to the playoffs four times in his five seasons as head coach after getting hired in 2020. The Knicks had their best season under Thibodeau in 2024-25, reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000 following their second-round upset of the defending champion Boston Celtics. They weren’t able to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, though, falling to the Indiana Pacers in six games. 

“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,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories. 

“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

While New York had its best season in a quarter-century, there were rumors that Thibodeau was on the hot seat throughout the year. The Knicks notably struggled against the league’s top three teams in the regular season, failing to beat the Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder or Cleveland Cavaliers in 10 games before the postseason began after making big swings for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. 

Still, the Knicks finished 51-31, which was their best regular-season record since the 2012-13 season, to finish third in the Eastern Conference standings. The hot seat rumors surrounding Thibodeau persisted throughout the Knicks’ postseason run, though, as New York’s starting lineup posted a negative plus/minus during the playoffs. He eventually switched up New York’s starting lineup after it went down 2-0 to Indiana, which included a loss in Game 1 where it blew a 14-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. 

Thibodeau also faced criticisms that his hard-driving style and overreliance on his starters wore down his players, the same ones that have followed him since the beginning of his head coaching career with the Chicago Bulls. But his ways seemed to be working in New York.

Jalen Brunson and Tom Thibodeau have been two of the key reasons for the Knicks’ turnaround in recent years. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson gave a staunch defense of Thibodeau when asked if he felt he was the right person to be the team’s head coach.

“Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe that he’s the right guy? Yes. Come on,” Brunson told reporters before walking off the podium.

Now, the Knicks will look for a different head coach that they hope will help lead the franchise to their first title since 1973. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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