Pro: Tom Thibodeau Wins
Whether or not you agree with his strategies, what simply cannot be denied is that Tom Thibodeau wins. He was a massive success as an assistant coach, securing a championship with the Boston Celtics and reaching the NBA Finals with the New York Knicks.
Compounded by his resounding success as a head coach, even the most passionate of Thibodeau detractors can’t deny that he knows how to win in the NBA.
In his first season with the Chicago Bulls, Thibodeau took a team that went 41-41 before he took over and led it to a 62-20 record. That team also reached the Eastern Conference Finals, where it lost to a Miami Heat team that had three Hall of Famers in their respective primes.
Chicago then went 50-16 during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, during which Derrick Rose missed 27 games before the infamous postseason injury.
Thibodeau proceeded to lead Chicago to records of 45-37, 48-34, and 50-32, including two postseason victories, as Rose and countless other continue to miss extensive time due to injuries.
And then there was Minnesota.
Thibodeau led Minnesota to a 47-35 record and a trip to the Playoffs during the 2017-18 campaign—suggesting his approach isn’t quite as dated as he’s made out to be. That was Minnesota’s first and only postseason appearance since 2004.
Even in 2018-19, when Thibodeau was fired after 40 games and the locker room was in shambles, he led the Timberwolves to a 19-21 record.
Since Thibodeau was fired, Minnesota has gone just 36-70.
The question is: Do the New York Knicks believe that an enlightened Tom Thibodeau can lead them to the wins they’ve been so hungry to achieve?