NEW YORK, N.Y.— James Dolan has long been known for his aversion to media appearances during his tenure as owner of the New York Knicks, but in a rare interview on WFAN’s _The Carton Show_ on Monday, the business mogul addressed a wide range of Knicks-related topics—including the reason behind parting ways with former head coach Tom Thibodeau.
The decision to let go of Thibodeau—who guided the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in a quarter century during the 2025 playoffs—sent shockwaves throughout the NBA. Dolan explained that the move ultimately stemmed from philosophical differences regarding the team’s long-term direction.
“We came to the conclusion that we needed to evolve beyond the old traditional coaching formulas… and that really wasn’t his thing,” Dolan claimed.
“If you want to build a long-term, competitive team… you need somebody who’s more of a collaborator than Tom was,” he added.
To Dolan’s point, Thibodeau was a staunch believer in heavy workloads for star players such as Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, while current head coach Mike Brown has been more willing to give younger players like Tyler Kolek opportunities to prove themselves—potentially positioning New York for long-term success.
“That’s some of it \[not using the bench, style of play\], but it was much more about style of leadership. Collaboration versus sort of \[lone wolf\]—yeah. Because of the way, particularly basketball, is evolving, how much more complicated it is, they’re very big on development on both clubs,” Dolan explained.
Despite the change, Dolan made sure to pay his respects to the work Thibodeau did during his tenure at Madison Square Garden, saying that “The team is really built on the shoulders of Tom Thibodeau. He built that core, we went as far as we did last year, so you really gotta take your hat off to Tom and the job that he did.”
In addition to addressing the landmark firing, Dolan also weighed in on the likelihood of the Knicks landing Giannis Antetokounmpo—suggesting that the probability was not particularly high.
“Not that I’m aware of. And I think—look, we love our team right now. They have chemistry, they all like each other. I’ve never seen a locker room more copacetic. There’s a lot of energy in there,” he said.
So far, Dolan’s decision to move on from Thibodeau has appeared prudent, as the Knicks hold the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at 23–13. However, New York has hit a 4–6 rough patch over its last 10 games, due in large part to an injury to team sparkplug Josh Hart.
The Knicks will look to get back on track following a loss to Detroit on Monday when they host the Clippers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.