Fired New York Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau was not on the same page with some of his players last season, according to an NBA insider.
The New York Knicks had their most successful season in 25 years, but fired Tom Thibodeau. They made the Eastern Conference Finals, beating the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the playoffs, but Knicks ownership felt Thibodeau didn’t have the upside as a head coach to win the team a championship.
In his place, they hired Mike Brown. Brown led the Sacramento Kings to the three-seed in his most recent tenure as head coach. He’s well-respected around the NBA as an elite basketball mind, dating back to his time with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach.
A fresh start was needed in New York, according to an NBA insider.
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesTom Thibodeau wasn’t a great coach for two New York Knicks players
Thibodeau was an old-school coach. He worked his players hard, both in practice and in games, and had a 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 earn 100 career victories in 2012, and last season’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance was the second in his career.
Despite those accomplishments, he didn’t see eye-to-eye with Mikal Bridges, who signed a $150 million deal with the Knicks this offseason. That could be a key reason why the Knicks fired Thibodeau.
On The Ringer NBA Show, insider Fred Katz explained, “There were certain players in the locker room that didn’t see eye-to-eye with Thibs.
“I thought Tom Thibodeau did a great job and the guys did a fantastic job last year. But I’m looking forward…I can’t wait to get on the court”
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“I don’t think Thibs ever really worked great with Mikal Bridges. I don’t think the basketball fit optimized great.”
The Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson loved Thibodeau. His work ethic and drive to win were perfectly aligned with those of his head coach. That was the case almost unanimously among the 2023-24 Knicks. But while last season’s team was the most successful for a quarter-century, all wasn’t well behind the scenes.
Katz continued, “Thibs was an amazing coach for Jalen Brunson—an amazing coach for Donte DiVincenzo. I don’t think he was a great coach for Mikal Bridges. And maybe not an amazing coach for OG Anunoby. Those guys had disagreements on certain things.
“When you have that sort of dynamic from year to year, I think the Knicks felt that they needed a change there.”
Tom Thibodeau story exposes the biggest flaw in his coaching style
The biggest critique of Thibodeau was his distribution of minutes throughout the season. He has consistently played his starters for extended periods throughout the season, which can lead to burnout in the playoffs.
The Knicks’ starting five last season led the NBA in total minutes as a unit. Bridges led the league in total minutes in 2024-25 with 3036. This extreme example of Thibodeau’s minutes distribution offers insight into why Bridges may not have seen eye-to-eye with his head coach.
Katz said, “There was some stuff with the minutes with Thibs, where I was like, ‘Alright, that’s a lot.’ I will never forget being at the Knicks-Hornets game in December, when the Knicks were up 24. It was one of those games where the Knicks took a huge lead early, and it was just over in the first quarter.
“Knicks are up 24 with 1:30 left, and Thibs pulls Mikal Bridges. It was the first time he pulled him in the whole game. He had played 46 and a half consecutive minutes, and the Knicks were up 24. “I was like, ‘That is not necessary.’”
Bridges called out Thibodeau for playing his starters too much. In March, he said, “Sometimes it’s not fun on the body. You’ll want that as a coach, but also talked to him a little bit, knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48, 47.”
Ironically, this season it didn’t end up being an issue for the Knicks. They were one of the healthiest teams in the postseason and made a deep playoff run. But losing to the Pacers was an unacceptable outcome for the season, evidenced by the Knicks’ coaching change.