Tag: tom thibodeau

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau wins 2020-21 NBA Coach of Year award

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.

This is the second NBA Coach of the Year Award for Thibodeau, who earned the honor in the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Bulls in his first season as an NBA head coach. Now honored in his first season as the Knicks’ head coach, Thibodeau has become the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach with two different franchises. (Cotton Fitzsimmons won the award in his first season as the Kansas City Kings’ head coach, 1978-79, and again in the first season of his second tenure as the Phoenix Suns’ head coach, 1988-89.)

Thibodeau received 43 first-place votes and earned 351 total points to edge Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, who finished in second place with 340 points (45 first-place votes). The 11-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers marks the smallest margin since the current NBA Coach of the Year voting format was introduced in the 2002-03 season.

Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder finished in third place with 161 points (10 first-place votes). Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.

With Thibodeau as head coach, New York finished tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) and made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks won 16 of their final 20 games to complete a turnaround from last season’s overall record of 21-45.

Thibodeau led New York to an 11-4 record in April for its winningest month since March 2014 (11-5). He was selected as the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for May after guiding the Knicks to a 6-3 record in the final month of the regular season.

The Knicks showed dramatic improvement on defense with Thibodeau at the helm, leading the NBA in points allowed (104.7) and opponents’ field goal percentage (44.0) and ranking fourth in defensive rating (107.8). Last season, New York finished 17th or lower in all three categories.

Under Thibodeau, Julius Randle was named an NBA All-Star for the first time and won the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award. In addition, Derrick Rose was a finalist for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, 2021 NBA Rising Stars selection RJ Barrett ranked as the fourth-leading scorer among second-year NBA players (17.6 ppg), and rookie Immanuel Quickley averaged 11.4 points after being selected by New York with the 25th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Thibodeau is the 10th head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award more than once and the eighth to do it with multiple franchises. In addition, he is the third head coach to be selected as NBA Coach of the Year with the Knicks, joining Red Holzman (1969-70) and Pat Riley (1992-93).

New York hired Thibodeau as its head coach on July 30, 2020. He has a career regular-season record of 393-277 (.587) in nine seasons as an NBA head coach, guiding teams to the playoffs seven times. Before joining the Knicks, he served as head coach of the Bulls for five seasons (2010-15) and the Minnesota Timberwolves over three seasons (2016-19).

The NBA Coach of the Year Award trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Red Auerbach. The legendary head coach guided the Celtics to nine NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959-66.

Heat star Jimmy Butler praises new Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau

The Knicks recently made Tom Thibodeau their new head coach. Heat star Jimmy Butler knows Thibs, having spent serious time playing for him in the past. Here’s the New York Post reporting what Butler had to say about New York’s newest hire:

Jimmy Butler sounds ready for another reunion with Tom Thibodeau.

Having played under the new Knicks coach in Chicago and Minnesota, Butler — who has credited Thibodeau with his development from late first round pick to five-time All-Star — said he believes the young core of RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson could make similar progress with Thibodeau’s teachings.

“He’s going to do great. He’s going to turn those young guys into some real players; some superstars, some All-Stars,” Butler said of Thibodeau. “I know he’s been itching for this. I know he’s been preparing for it. When you talk about Thibs and the big stage, I think they go hand in hand.”

Things with Butler didn’t go smoothly in Minnesota, as the rest of the above article details. But his praise of Thibs is the takeaway here.

Butler and the Heat are in Orlando at the Disney NBA campus, where they will face the Nuggets on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Leading Heat scorers this season (PPG)
Jimmy Butler 20.2
Bam Adebayo 16.2
Goran Dragic 16.1
Kendrick Nunn 15.6
Duncan Robinson 13.3

Knicks officially hire Tom Thibodeau as new head coach

The New York Knicks announced today that Tom Thibodeau has been named the 31st head coach in franchise history.

“Tom Thibodeau is a proven winner who gets the most out of the players and teams that he has coached,” said Leon Rose, president, New York Knicks. “He will bring leadership, accountability and a hard-working mentality to our organization. We are excited to bring him back to New York and look forward to collaborating with him and his staff toward a successful future.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to this historic franchise as head coach and work alongside a talented front office that I have great trust in and respect for,” said Thibodeau. “I know what New York is like when the Knicks are successful and there is nothing comparable. I look forward to being a part of what we are building here and can’t wait to get to work.”

According to New York Newsday, “the Knicks interviewed other former head coaches: Kenny Atkinson, Mike Woodson, Mike Brown, Jason Kidd and Mike Miller, who finished up the season as the Knicks’ interim coach. The Knicks also conducted interviews with five assistant coaches – San Antonio’s Will Hardy, Orlando’s Pat Delany, Chicago’s Chris Fleming, Philadelphia’s Ime Udoka and Dallas’ Jamahl Mosley.”

Thibodeau, 62, holds a career coaching record of 352-246 (.589) over eight seasons with Chicago and Minnesota. His .589 career winning percentage is 11th best in NBA history among coaches who have coached at least 500 games. He was named the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2010-11 season and coached the Eastern Conference in the 2012 NBA All Star game in Orlando, FL.

He most recently served as head coach and president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading the franchise to a 97-107 (.475) regular-season record over three seasons (2016-19). Ending a 13-year playoff drought in 2018, Minnesota won 47 games during that season, which was the team’s largest win total since the 2003-04 season.

Thibodeau’s first stint as a head coach was with the Chicago Bulls where he spent five seasons (2010-15) guiding the team to a 255-139 (.647) record. He led the Bulls to the best record in the NBA in back-to-back seasons (2010-11 and 2011-12), and to five consecutive trips to the postseason, including the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010-11. The 2010-11 team won 62 games, which were the most by a Bulls team since their championship season of 1997-98 and was one of three 50-plus win seasons under his tutelage. During his time with the Bulls, Thibodeau set a franchise record with an 86 consecutive-game streak without losing more than two games in a row and led the NBA in close-game winning percentage at .626 (66-40).

In his eight seasons as an NBA head coach, Thibodeau’s teams ranked in the Top-10 in opponents points per game, five times, twice leading the NBA. His defenses ranked in the Top-10 in defensive rating, four times, twice leading the league, while his teams ranked in the Top-10 in offensive rating, three times, including twice in the Top-5.

Prior to becoming a head coach in the NBA, the New Britain, CT-native was an assistant coach in Minnesota (1989-91), San Antonio (1992-94), Philadelphia (1994-96), New York (1996-03), Houston (2003-07) and Boston (2007-10). In his 28 seasons as an NBA coach, his teams have advanced to the postseason 19 times, including three trips to the NBA Finals (1999, 2008, 2010) and an NBA championship with Boston in 2008.

He began his coaching career with his alma mater, Salem State, as an assistant coach for three seasons (1981-84) before he was promoted, serving as head coach for one season (1984-85). After his time at Salem State, Thibodeau was an assistant coach at Harvard University for four seasons (1985-89). He played four seasons at Salem State (1977-81) and helped lead the Vikings to consecutive Division III national tournaments (1980–81). In 1980, he led Salem State to the league championship and the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid.