Knicks' Leon Rose Reportedly Made Decision to Fire Thibodeau, James Dolan Backed Move

After five seasons at the helm, Tom Thibodeau is out as the New York Knicks' head coach.

Despite leading the Knicks to back-to-back 50-win seasons and their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000, New York's front office felt it was time for a change.

According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, Mark Puleo and James Edwards III, the decision was made by Knicks president Leon Rose, who had "the full backing of owner James Dolan."

After the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs last week, The Athletic's Edwards and Fred Katz reported that Thibodeau still had "the backing of team president Leon Rose," and several members of the team voiced their support for him.

Clearly, something changed within the Knicks front office in recent days.

"Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans," Rose said in a statement. "We can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.

"Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward."

The Knicks had their most successful stretch in more than 20 years under Thibodeau, missing the postseason just one time and going 226-174 in the regular season. He was named the NBA's Coach of the Year in 2020-21 after taking the team to the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

The firing came after New York signed Thibodeau to a three-year extension in July. The Knicks will now owe the veteran coach at least $30 million, per SNY's Ian Begley.

Despite his success, Thibodeau had flaws. One of his biggest was is reliance on his starting five, which was on full display against the Pacers in the conference finals. Just two bench players played more than 13.2 minutes per game while the Knicks' starters averaged 33 or more minutes per game.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, New York is looking for a "more lenient" coach who is willing to go to his bench more often.

Thibodeau, who has been an NBA coach in some capacity since 1989, coached the Chicago Bulls from 2010 to 2015, the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2016 to 2019 and had been with New York since 2020.

While his time with the Knicks is now over, the 67-year-old will likely find himself on a coaching staff soon if he chooses to continue coaching.