Fresh off their deepest playoff run in 25 years, the New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau.
The decision comes three days after the Knicks were ousted from the Eastern Conference finals in six games by the Indiana Pacers, their longtime rivals. But it also comes after New York advanced further than expected with a relatively new core of players, knocking out the defending champion Boston Celtics in the second round.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” team president Leon Rose said in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. 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.
“… Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
The Knicks upset the Celtics despite losing all four games between the teams during the regular season — with three of those losses coming by double digits — and despite fielding an overhauled group.
New York was Thibodeau’s third head coaching stop in the NBA. Before the Knicks, he coached the Chicago Bulls (2010-15) and Timberwolves (2016-19) and regularly led teams to the playoffs but had not made an NBA Finals appearance.
