Fresh off their deepest playoff run in 25 years, the New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday
The decision comes three days after the Knicks were ousted from the Eastern Conference finals in six games by the Indiana Pacers, their longtime rivals. But it also comes after New York advanced further than expected with a relatively new core of players, knocking out the defending champion Boston Celtics in the second round.
Thibodeau, who surpassed Pat Riley earlier this season to rank fourth on the franchise list in victories, led the Knicks to back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since 1995. He'd been, by far, the club's most successful coach over the past two-plus decades and signed a three-year extension with the team just last summer.
"Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans," team president Leon Rose said in a statement. "This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction. We can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.
"... Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future."
Thibodeau had a lengthy history with the Knicks, dating back to the 1990s, when he was an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy. Rick Brunson, one of Thibodeau's assistant coaches, played for those Knick teams and often brought his son, Jalen -- now the franchise's superstar -- to practices and games.
After the club's season-ending defeat in Indiana, Jalen Brunson was asked about Thibodeau's job status.
"Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he's the right guy? Yes. Come on."
The Knicks upset the Celtics despite losing all four of their games to the club during the regular season -- with three of those losses coming by double digits -- and despite fielding an overhauled group.
The team's front office sent out five first-round picks for Brooklyn wing Mikal Bridges before dealing Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota for All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns. The swaps left the Knicks with a bit less depth but one of the most talented starting fives in the association.
As such, Thibodeau -- long known for playing his starters big minutes, even as the league moves toward using rest more in this load-management era -- leaned heavily on his starting five, playing them far more than any other five-man group in the NBA.
New York was the veteran coach's third head coaching stop in the NBA. Before the Knicks, he coached the Chicago Bulls (2010-15) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (2016-19).
He has a .579 career win percentage as a head coach, the highest by any coach without a Finals appearance in NBA history (minimum 300 games coached), according to ESPN Research.
The Phoenix Suns have narrowed their head coaching search to two finalists from the Cleveland Cavaliers, associate coach Johnnie Bryant and assistant Jordan Ott, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Both Bryant and Ott will meet with Suns owner Mat Ishbia, CEO Josh Bartelstein and general manager Brian Gregory in Michigan later this week, sources said.
After firing Mike Budenholzer on April 14 and naming Gregory as the new GM on May 1, the Suns embarked on a comprehensive coaching search. Gregory led a multiround process that began with over 15 coaching interviews. A group of approximately eight candidates had second-round meetings before six -- Bryant, Ott, Miami's Chris Quinn, Dallas' Sean Sweeney, Oklahoma City's Dave Bliss and current staff member David Fizdale -- advanced to in-person visits with team officials last week.
Suns franchise cornerstone Devin Booker has been involved in the search process over the past seven to 10 days, sources said.
The Cavaliers had an Eastern Conference-best 64 wins this season and stand to lose one of their top assistants to the Suns. Bryant and Ott joined the Cavaliers last summer as Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson's first hires, and both assistants are rooted in principles of toughness, grit and player development. The Cavaliers ranked first in offensive efficiency and eight in defensive efficiency this season, per ESPN Research.
The Suns have been the NBA's only true coaching vacancy for several weeks now, allowing the franchise to be patient with their search. The Suns, who went 36-46 this season, will be hiring their fourth different coach in four seasons.
Ott has also been on staffs for the Atlanta Hawks (2013-16), Brooklyn Nets (2016-22) and Los Angeles Lakers (2022-24), while Bryant has also served as an assistant for the Utah Jazz (2012-20) and New York Knicks (2020-24).
Bryant played in college at Utah from 2005 to 2008, while Ott was a video coordinator with Michigan State men's basketball program under Tom Izzo from 2008 to 2013.
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