The New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. NBA Analysis takes a look at why.
Since taking over the franchise, Tom Thibodeau led the New York Knicks to four playoff runs, including reaching the Conference Finals this season, a stage they had last reached in 2000.
New York was in a state of frenzy, elated with their progress, but this positivity did not last.
After the loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals, star player Jalen Brunson backed Tom Thibodeau to continue leading the Knicks.
And while initially it looked like the team would keep him, the decision to fire Thibodeau less than four days since the loss came as a shock to many.
Stephen A. Smith, who criticised Thibodeau for his coaching decisions in the series against the Pacers, called for the team president Leon Rose to make a public appearance to explain the call.
While there have been no names discussed yet, Shams Charania reported the team want someone who will use the bench wisely and be less rigid with their playing style.
To fire a coach that had brought playoff success to a city that had not been to the stage for over two decades was always going to be difficult.
However, there were a few reasons behind Thibs’ firing that became evident once the news emerged.
Thibodeau was called out by his own player Mikal Bridges for looking away from the bench earlier in the season.
Although Thibodeau has helped the Knicks get back to being a powerhouse in the East, he has not used the promising bench they have.
One of the prime examples of this was Game 6 against the Pacers where he used Miles McBride for just 11 minutes.
McBride is one of the most talented players on the roster and he has proven that time and again with his performances.
But he averaged just 19 minutes in the playoffs this season, which was less than the 26 from last season.
The likes of Landry Shamet, Delon Wright and Precious Achiuwa also played very few games in the 2024-25 season.
These players had shown their brilliance whenever they were given a chance, but Thibodeau always had a limited rotation.
This also meant an all-in approach with his starters.
Brunson, Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns were the five that started the most games for the Knicks.
All of these players played 35 minutes or more per game this season.
While credit needs to be given to the players, this shows how heavily reliant Thibodeau is on his starters, which is not always a good sign.
Brunson suffered an injury that kept him out for almost a month, while Anunoby is also a player that has had issues with injuries.
There have been instances where Thibodeau plays his starters even when the game is won, which is a huge risk if anything goes wrong.
While this is what has helped the Knicks become successful, fatigue often kicks in towards the end of the season and that is what could have resulted in the team running out of steam to compete against the energetic Pacers side.
The Knicks had the fifth best offensive rating in the NBA during the 2024-25 regular season.
They dropped to seventh in the playoffs among all the teams, which shows the offense sometimes takes a back seat in the postseason in Thibs’ system.
Brunson, who had a brilliant playoff run was guarded well by Andrew Nembhard in the all important Game 6 and this made things extremely difficult for the Knicks.
He scored 19 points in the game, but turned the ball over five times.
In a lot of the games, Brunson had to step up for the Knicks in order for them to win. Former Knicks star Iman Shumpert labelled them too predictable.
If Thibodeau could have found more plays to get Bridges and Towns involved, the Knicks would be a lot more dangerous to play against.
The New York Knicks have gone ‘all-in’ with trades in recent seasons, giving up all their assets to acquire OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
And despite this, the cold hard truth is that the New York Knicks were not good enough to win the title.
They were a 51-win regular season team. Does this group have it within them to become a 60-plus win team?
The Knicks next move was either to trade away some of their starters to try and bring in a superstar, or to make a change at the coaching position.
Trades could still take place, but the Knicks ownership decided that the quickest way to improve would be to change the coach.
