Over the last five years, Tom Thibodeau won 226 regular-season games with the New York Knicks, or just 30 fewer than his six predecessors combined.
His 24 playoff wins were the most by a Knicks coach since Jeff Van Gundy and six more than New York recorded in the 20 years prior to his arrival. And the Knicks’ trip to the Eastern Conference finals this spring was the first for the franchise since 2000 and unleashed a joyfully riotous weeks-long party in a city starved for a basketball title.
For all of that, Thibodeau got fired Tuesday before the three-year extension he signed last summer could even begin.
Tough town, tough gig — especially for Thibodeau’s successor, who arrives with championship-or-bust expectations even after the Knicks’ lack of depth, athleticism and defensive acumen were exposed by the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals.
Here are a few candidates who might be tasked with finally winning the Knicks’ first title since 1973:
Michael Malone, ex-Nuggets head coach: Nobody is better prepared for the crucible of New York than Malone. He spent two seasons as a Knicks assistant in the early 2000s and is the son of the late Brendan Malone, who had three different stints as a New York assistant. And no one understands the demands placed upon a head coach like Malone, who was fired by Denver with three games to go in the regular season despite winning a franchise-record 471 games as well as the Nuggets’ lone NBA title in 2023.
Johnnie Bryant, Cavaliers assistant coach: Bryant was the associate head coach of the Knicks under Thibodeau for four years before moving to Cleveland in 2024. He’s reportedly up for the Phoenix Suns gig, the only other current NBA opening, so Thibodeau’s firing might have been a preemptive strike by Knicks management. Bryant would also provide a familiar face for the Knicks, whose lone assistant coach with NBA head coaching experience is Maurice Cheeks — who hasn’t run a team since 2014.
Taylor Jenkins, ex-Grizzlies head coach: Like Malone, Jenkins was a surprise late-season firing despite an impressive track record in Memphis, where he won a franchise-record 250 games. His ability to cultivate young talent could be intriguing as the replacement for the famously vet-friendly Thibodeau.
Mike Brown, ex-Cavaliers, Lakers and Kings head coach: Brown coached LeBron James during the latter’s first stint in Cleveland, so he knows all about dealing with strong personalities. He was also an assistant on three NBA champions with the Golden State Warriors before ending Sacramento’s 16-year postseason drought in his first season at the helm in 2022-23.
Frank Vogel, ex-Pacers, Magic, Lakers and Suns coach: Like Brown, he has experience with winning in challenging situations. Vogel got the Pacers to consecutive Eastern Conference finals in 2013-14 and led the Lakers to the title in the pandemic bubble before the impatient Suns fired him after one year.
Mike Budenholzer, ex-Hawks, Bucks and Suns head coach: His star dimmed when he was fired following the first season of a five-year deal with the Suns. But he can’t be ruled out as part of a bid by the Knicks to land Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, though such a deal is unlikely given the Knicks’ lack of first-round picks and tradable players.
Jeff Van Gundy, ex-Knicks and Rockets head coach: A long shot because it’s been 18 years since he last served as a head coach. But Van Gundy, still somehow only 63 years old, is one of the few people who could give Thibodeau a run in the gym rat department, as he proved by taking an assistant’s job with the Clippers this season following a successful broadcasting career. Plus — and this cannot be stated enough — as a former Knicks coach, Van Gundy would know what he’s getting into.
–Jerry Beach, Field Level Media
