The New York Knicks are in the market for a new head coach less than a week after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
In a stunning move, Tom Thibodeau was relieved of his duties on Wednesday (PH time), June 4, ending his five-year tenure as the Knicks main shot-caller.
Thank you, Coach Thibodeau.
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 3, 2025
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement.
“This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction,” he added.
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 3, 2025
The decision comes despite the Knicks recording their highest win total in over a decade and advancing past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
New York eliminated the Detroit Pistons and the defending champion Boston Celtics in the first two rounds before falling in six games to the deeper and faster Indiana Pacers in the conference finals.
[ALSO READ: Pacers eliminate Knicks to make first NBA Finals since 2000]
Thibodeau’s departure marks a surprising twist in a season that began with a flurry of aggressive front-office moves in last year's offseason.
The Knicks traded five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets to acquire Mikal Bridges, then sent former All-Star Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns just before training camp.
[ALSO READ: Same faces, different places: Looking back at the biggest NBA offseason movements]
It was a clear sign of a “win-now” mandate — and Thibodeau, as it turns out, got them close, but not close enough.
He leaves the Knicks with a 226-174 record in five seasons, ranking fourth on the franchise’s all-time wins list behind Red Holzman (613), Joe Lapchick (326), and Jeff Van Gundy (248), and ahead of Hall of Famer Pat Riley (223).
The Knicks made the playoffs in four of Thibodeau’s five seasons, winning at least one series in each of the last three — something the franchise had not achieved since the 1990s. In the 20 seasons prior to his arrival, New York managed just one playoff series victory.
He also led New York to back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since 1996–97 and was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2021 after guiding the Knicks to a 41–31 record in a pandemic-shortened season.
Still, the franchise has not won an NBA title since 1973.
