Jalen Brunson made his stance crystal clear.
Moments after the Knicks have been eradicated within the Jap Convention Finals, Brunson was requested if he believed Tom Thibodeau was the precise coach to guide the group transferring ahead.
“Is that a real question right now?” Brunson stated. “You just asked me if I believe [Thibodeau] is the right guy. Yes. Come on.”
However the Knicks noticed issues otherwise.
Thibodeau’s firing on Tuesday despatched shockwaves via the NBA. The ousting ended some of the profitable head teaching tenures within the historical past of the Knicks, who reworked from cellar-dwellers to perennial playoff individuals below his 5 years of management.
“Forever grateful,” Josh Hart wrote Tuesday on social media.
Here’s a breakdown by the numbers of Thibodeau’s time with the Knicks.
226: Thibodeau’s 226 regular-season wins (in opposition to 174 losses) are the fourth most by a Knicks head coach, behind solely Crimson Holzman’s 613, Joe Lapchick’s 326 and Jeff Van Gundy’s 248. Thibodeau moved forward of Pat Riley (223) this season.
.565: Thibodeau’s regular-season profitable proportion because the Knicks’ head coach ranks sixth in franchise historical past — and some ticks forward of Holzman’s .559.
4: The Knicks made the playoffs in 4 of Thibodeau’s 5 years, together with his first on the helm, in addition to every of the final three.
7: That’s what number of consecutive seasons the Knicks missed the playoffs earlier than Thibodeau’s arrival. They’d a .330 profitable proportion throughout that stretch.
50: This was the Knicks’ second season in a row with at the very least 50 wins. They’d not reached that milestone in consecutive seasons for the reason that mid-Nineties.
51: The Knicks’ 51 wins this season marked their most since 2012-13.
25: This yr’s journey to the Jap Convention Finals was the Knicks’ first since 2000 — a drought of 25 years.
3: The Knicks received at the very least one playoff collection in every of the final three years. They received just one playoff collection within the 20 seasons earlier than Thibodeau’s arrival.
21: That’s what number of video games the Knicks received, in comparison with 45 losses, of their last season earlier than hiring Thibodeau. That season was shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They went 17-65 within the yr earlier than that.
41: Thibodeau went 41-31 in his first yr because the Knicks’ head coach, which was additionally diminished resulting from COVID.
24: Thibodeau received 24 playoff video games (in opposition to 23 losses) with the Knicks, good for the fifth most by a head coach in franchise historical past. It’s value noting the NBA playoffs expanded to 4 rounds in 1984, and that the primary spherical grew to become a best-of-seven collection in 2003.
7: Thibodeau spent seven years as a Knicks assistant from 1996-2003, principally working below Van Gundy, and later Don Chaney.
.579: Thibodeau’s win proportion in 13 seasons as the top coach of the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Knicks is the very best for a coach (minimal 300 video games) to by no means make the NBA Finals.
26.4: Brunson averaged 26.4 factors per recreation in three seasons below Thibodeau. He earned two All-Star nods, two second-team All-NBA choices, and the 2024-25 Clutch Participant of the 12 months Award in that span. Over the earlier 4 years in Dallas, Brunson averaged 11.9 factors per recreation in a supporting position.
3: Thibodeau had three years remaining on his contract with the Knicks, who prolonged his deal final summer time.
