Knicks, Tom Thibodeau Agree to Long-Term Contract Extension

The New York Knicks have agreed to a three-season contract extension with head coach Tom Thibodeau, which will keep him in midtown through the 2027-28 season, sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

A two-time Coach of the Year with the Knicks and Chicago Bulls, Thibodeau most recently guided New York to a stellar 50-32 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference during 2023-24. Amid a rash of accruing rotation player injuries, New York fell to the Indiana Pacers in a seven-game second-round series.

This year’s Knicks ranked among the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, led by an All-NBA Second Team emergence from superstar point guard Jalen Brunson.

With the Knicks shoring up their on-court depth this summer and prepared to compete with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers for conference supremacy over the next few seasons, it makes sense that the team wants to lock up its head coach long-term. Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.

Knicks team president Leon Rose, Thibodeau’s former agent, initially brought him on to lead the program in 2020. Across his four seasons with the team so far, Thibodeau has restored the team to relevance, without necessarily burning out his players this time. He has led New York to a 175-143 regular season record, plus a 14-15 playoff record. That 175-win record is already fifth in Knicks history. Prior to Thibodeau’s arrival, New York had only one playoff series once since 2001, as Wojnarowski notes.

The Knicks have made the postseason three times in the past four years, and look to have a bright future thanks to their core of Brunson, All-Star power forward Julius Randle, newly-acquired All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges, and stellar wings OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart. Guard Miles McBride and center Mitchell Robinson round out the club’s primary rotation as of this writing. New York saw starting five Isaiah Hartenstein depart for the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency this summer.

A longtime NBA assistant coach, Thibodeau’s tenure in that capacity included a run under Jeff Van Gundy on the Knicks from 1996-2003. Thibodeau won a title on Doc Rivers’ staff as the innovator behind the 2007-08 Boston Celtics’ defense. He quickly took on the Bulls head coaching gig from 2010-15, a stretch that included three 50-win-plus seasons and four playoff series victories.

He was less successful on the Minnesota Timberwolves, coaching that club through parts of just three seasons before All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler essentially mutinied and forced a trade, which inspired owner Glen Taylor to let him go midseason in 2018-19.

Thibodeau seems to be completely revitalized in New York, although the team faces major questions at center. Robinson will square off against Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid on the team’s two biggest rivals. When healthy, the 7-foot big man is a solid rim-rolling big man who can defend well on the block, although he’s not much of a scorer. But he hasn’t been healthy much. Robinson has missed a combined 74 regular season contests across the past two seasons, and seven playoff games this spring.

New York is adding former Detroit Pistons assistant Mark Bryant, considered an elite coach for frontcourt talent, to its coaching staff under Thibodeau this season, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

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