Tom Thibodeau is out—now what for the Knicks?

Well… that escalated fast.

Three days after the Knicks bowed out in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals—capped by a bruising second-half collapse against the Indiana Pacers—Tom Thibodeau is out as head coach. Fired. Done. Over. Just like that.

This is a team that, under Thibodeau, reached its first conference finals in 25 years. A team that, before he arrived, hadn’t seen the playoffs for seven straight seasons. A team that had floundered in the dark corners of the league and was finally beginning to build something real.

And yet, the front office pulled the plug.

According to the team’s press release, the organization is “singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.” It’s a noble sentiment, but it doesn’t really explain why they just let go of the coach who’s brought them closer to that goal than anyone has in two decades.

Let’s not forget: Thibodeau won more playoff games than any other Knicks coach this century. He even passed Pat Riley on the franchise’s all-time playoff wins list. That’s no small feat in a city where expectations devour hope on an annual basis.

His résumé in New York? A playoff berth in Year 1 (2021) after years of irrelevance. A second-round trip in 2023. A gut-wrenching seven-game exit in 2024. And this season? Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks were a real contender. The vibes were back.

So… what exactly happened?

The short version? Minutes. Usage. Rotation. Stubbornness.

Thibodeau’s calling card—his intensity, his commitment to riding his stars—may have become the very thing that got him fired. Knicks starters consistently ranked among the league leaders in minutes, and this season was no exception. They played a lot—in some cases, 40+ minutes on the regular. The Knicks’ top five logged 226 more minutes than the next most-used lineup in the league.

Even Mikal Bridges, who isn’t exactly known for ducking minutes, said he’d raised concerns with Thibs about the heavy workload. Thibodeau later denied the conversation ever happened.

That was a red flag.

Behind the starters, the bench was barely touched. Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, Pacome Dadiet—names that existed mostly in box scores during blowouts. It’s not that these guys were expected to be difference-makers, but when the stars started to run out of gas in the playoffs, there was nothing to fall back on. No alternate looks. No battle-tested reserves. Just more of the same.

Sure, Miles McBride and (late in the regular season when his status cleared) Mitchell Robinson became regular parts of the rotation. But beyond them? Thibodeau was rolling dice with a short bench all year. Sometimes it worked. When it didn’t—like in the Eastern Finals—there was no Plan B. No backup for Brunson beyond an inconsistent cycle of Cam Payne and Landry Shamet. No real experimentation with Karl-Anthony Towns and Robinson together. No room for error. That’s a dangerous way to live in the postseason.

To be fair, the Knicks weren’t built for depth. The roster didn’t scream “deep playoff run” when injuries struck. But still—Thibodeau’s unwillingness to stretch his rotation, even in low-risk moments, gave the front office pause.

And while Jalen Brunson publicly backed his coach after the season-ending loss—“Is that a real question right now? … Yes. Come on,” he said when asked if Thibs was still the guy—it wasn’t enough.

Now the Knicks will look for someone else to finish the job. Someone who can take this team from the doorstep of greatness to the promised land. New York hasn’t tasted a title since Red Holzman. The city’s starving. The core is talented. The window is open.

But the coach that brought them to the edge won’t be the one who tries to push them through.

Tom Thibodeau resurrected the Knicks. And just like that… the curtain falls.