The New York Knicks parted ways with coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, just days after the team was eliminated from what was its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years.
Almost immediately, star guard Josh Hart spoke out on social media about his now former head coach.
The split came just days after Knicks star Jalen Brunson defended Thibodeau after their loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 6, which ended their postseason run.
“Is that a real question right now?” Brunson responded when asked if Thibodeau was the guy to take the Knicks to the next level.
“You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy? Yes.”
Hart and Brunson weren’t alone in their praise for Thibodeau, either. Actor and noted Knicks superfan Ben Stiller, who was frequently spotted sitting courtside throughout the team’s most recent playoff run, thanked Thibodeau for making the Knicks “relevant again” on social media, too.
Noted Knicks fan John McEnroe happened to be calling the Carlos Alcaraz-Tommy Paul match in the French Open when the news broke, and he reacted to the news live, saying “that’s pretty harsh. That is a bummer.”
Coincidentally, former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, who played for Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks, was at Roland Garros watching the match. He had joined the TNT broadcast earlier.
Plenty in the Knicks world and New York media universe weren’t quite on board with the move to fire Thibodeau.
At least one person didn’t waste any time vying for the now open job in Manhattan, too.
The Knicks won 51 games this season and reached the conference finals for the first time since 2000. Thibodeau got the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five seasons at the helm, and he racked up back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since the early 1990s. Before Thibodeau was hired, the Knicks hadn’t made the playoffs in seven seasons.
By all accounts, Thibodeau’s time with the Knicks was a success. As has been the case at his previous stops in Chicago and Minnesota, it just wasn’t successful enough.
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