The Knicks fire head coach Tom Thibodeau just days after he led them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years

The New York Knicks have shocked the basketball community and fans of the franchise by sacking head coach Tom Thibodeau just days after he led the team to their first National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years.

Knicks management announced their decision to fire Thibodeau in the early hours of Wednesday, June 4 (Philippine Standard Time), just days after New York’s Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“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 have 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 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,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement.

.@nyknicks Announce Coaching Change pic.twitter.com/XhWOUSwWvn

— NY Knicks PR (@NY_KnicksPR) June 3, 2025

The decision to sack Thibodeau comes as a major surprise, considering he led the Knicks to a 51-win regular season—the franchise’s highest win total in over a decade—and signed a contract extension as recently as 2024. The Knicks still owe him at least $30 million as part of that deal.

The 67-year-old was appointed head coach of the Knicks in 2020 and spent five seasons with the team, leading them to the playoffs four times and compiling a 226–174 win-loss record. Notably, only three coaches in franchise history have won more games than Thibodeau since the Knicks were established in 1946.

Before joining the Knicks, Thibodeau had head coaching stints with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was named NBA Coach of the Year twice—in 2011 and 2021—and also won an NBA championship in 2008 as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.

He boasts a career head coaching record of 578–420, and it will be intriguing to see which team chooses to hire him next.

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