Tom Thibodeau Fired as Knicks HC After 2025 NBA Playoff Loss in ECF

The New York Knicks are making a major change.

The team fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday after bowing out to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the news.

Ian Begley of SNY noted that the "organization has great respect for Thibodeau and what he did for Knicks, but simply felt a new voice was needed."

Knicks' guard Josh Hart reacted to the news:

There will be some who are surprised by Tuesday's bombshell. Under Thibodeau, the Knicks were 226-174 across five seasons, made four playoff appearances and were on the doorstep of the NBA Finals this year. They also signed him to a three-year contract extension back in July.

But there were also signs that perhaps Thibodeau had taken the Knicks as far as he could.

In March, Mikal Bridges publicly questioned Thibodeau's long-running philosophy of playing his starters heavy minutes during the regular season. There were also indications that Thibodeau should have transitioned away from his starting lineup sooner in the playoffs.

The group of Hart, Bridges, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns had a net rating of minus-6.2 in the postseason, per NBA.com. Thibodeau finally made a change ahead of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, replacing Hart with Mitchell Robinson, but by that point, the Knicks were already in an 0-2 hole.

The Knicks' gig should be a fairly coveted one for prospective coaches, given the talent on the roster. Thibodeau helped to change the culture around the team and return them to consistent postseason entrants, though the hope will be that the next head coach can help the team reach its ceiling.

New York's leadership clearly felt that Thibodeau had gotten the Knicks as far as he could. And that wasn't far enough.