When the New York Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau as their head coach in 2020, the hope was that his track record of leading teams in playoff appearances would turn the franchise around. Well, that’s exactly what happened, and now the two sides are in a position to work out a long-term extension as soon as this summer, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick:
“His current contract runs through the 2024-25 season, but league sources say he hopes to secure his future with the Knicks when both sides plan to revisit the topic this summer,” Amick wrote.
Despite dealing with a number of injuries to key players, Thibodeau currently has his Knicks at 42-28 on the season and just one game behind the third seed in the Eastern Conference. In his first three seasons as the Knicks’ head coach, he helped the team reach the playoffs twice, including a second-round appearance last season, and is set to return to the postseason this year. He also won the league’s Coach of the Year award after his first season as head coach of the Knicks.
Amick added in his article that the national perception of how players appreciate Thibodeau’s coaching is the opposite of what it actually is. Speaking with Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo, he detailed how the team is more united and focused as a group under Thibodeau’s reign:
“From the outside world, there’s always (a different view),” DiVincenzo told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “But at our house – internally – we have a good dynamic and we have fun and everyone likes being together. To the outside world, you don’t really know. All you know is perception. All you know is the history of other teams (Thibodeau has coached) and his years with different organizations. But we had a lot of days off, a lot of days off.”