Pour one out for Tom Thibodeau after Knicks win NBA title a year after firing him

Imagine this as a man. You go through all the preparations for a wedding, including booking the venue, buying the ring, arranging the catering — only for the woman you love to decide that she wants to marry someone else instead. Now imagine how Tom Thibodeau must be feeling after seeing the New York Knicks get over the hump immediately, defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the 2026 NBA Finals, the season after he was fired.

It was Thibodeau who installed a winning culture in New York after taking over as the team’s head coach prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. He turned the Knicks around and led them to the playoffs in four of his five seasons in charge.

The team was showing signs of improvement with each passing season, and if not for a choke job in Game 1 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, perhaps the Knicks would have made it as far as the NBA Finals with him at the helm.

Instead, the Knicks replaced him with Mike Brown, and they managed to win it all. Thibodeau must be feeling proud, but at the same time, a bit shortchanged, as another man came in to reap the rewards of everything he paved the way for.

On social media, Knicks fans gave credit to Thibodeau for helping build the foundations of this title-winning team that Brown simply steered over the final hurdle.

“I was one of the first on the fire Thibs train. It was so obvious they needed another coach to get them over the hump, HOWEVER Thibs has his fingerprints on this whether anyone wants to admit it or not. He helped start this,” X user @AllAccessNYKNYM wrote.

“We wouldn’t be here without Thibs and Randle bringing us back from the abyss and I will never forget the excitement they brought back to New York,” @andytheflyguy_ added.

“Shoutout to Thibs also for turning this franchise around,” @MemesJets expressed.

“Firm believer Thibs was what NY needed at the start of the Brunson era. Couldn’t get them across the finish line himself, but still played a pivotal role,” @emilykatetakes furthered.

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