The sting of Tom Thibodeau’s firing still lingers.
Thibodeau, fired in June 2025 after coaching the Knicks for five seasons, told The Athletic before the 2025-26 season he was deeply wounded and “had a sense of betrayal” as he felt he’d helped certain people in the organization who didn’t return his loyalty.
On Wednesday, the outlet reported that a friend of the coach said he is “genuinely very happy for the players and his guys” for winning a title — but some less-happy feelings still linger.
“Tom is still hurt that the decision-makers made it appear he needed to be replaced,” the anonymous friend told The Athletic.
Taj Gibson, who played under Thibodeau with the Bulls and Knicks, said during a SirusXM NBA Radio appearance on Sunday that ill-will was not among the emotions the coach was going through, however.
“I talked to Thibs (Saturday) and the first thing we talked about was that he had no malice in his heart, he didn’t have any kind of hatred,” Gibson said. “He was so happy for the guys, he was just really proud of the guys for what they accomplished.”
Knicks owner James Dolan and president Leon Rose moved on from Thibodeau due to his inability to get the team to the next level, but also due to a lack of collaboration with with the front office.
But even though Thibodeau’s time in New York ran its course after the Knicks lost to the Pacers 4-2 in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, he’s one of the key factors in the team’s return to relevance.
Before he was hired in 2020, the Knicks weren’t an attractive landing spot for free agents, had missed the playoffs in sevens straight seasons and hadn’t won 30 games since 2017-18.
Thibodeau immediately established a defensive, gritty identity with the Knicks, guiding them to a 226-174 regular season record in five seasons and winning four playoff series in his final three years.
Mike Brown then replaced Thibodeau in July 2025 and ultimately led the Knicks to their first title in 53 years in his first season.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
