Former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau - NBA Playoffs New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons
Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had their own coaching questions, early this offseason, after their second-straight Western Conference Finals exit in a row, this time at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are now set to play against the Indiana Pacers in the 2024-25 NBA Finals.
Speaking of the Pacers, they earned their right to play for an championship by defeating Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals that made sportsbooks a ton of money via diehard Knicks fans who believed this was their year.
As history has now told us, it was not their year. Instead, just like the Wolves, they are watching the final round of the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs from their couch. And now, former Minnesota Timberwolves — turned New York Knicks — head coach Tom Thibodeau couldn’t go to work, even if he tried.
Former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau fired by New York Knicks
Tuesday afternoon, at approximately 1:40 p.m. CDT, news broke (via Shams – ESPN) that Thibs was being “relieved of his duties” as New York Knicks head coach, marking the second time he has been fired from a team that rostered Karl-Anthony Towns as one of its featured stars.
BREAKING: The New York Knicks are relieving Tom Thibodeau of his duties as head coach, sources tell ESPN. Thibodeau led the Knicks to their first East Finals in 25 years, made playoffs in 4 of 5 years and led Knicks to consecutive 50+ win seasons for first time since the 1990s. pic.twitter.com/B7w8KhoEcF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 3, 2025
Tom Thibodeau went 226-174 in his five seasons leading the New York Knicks, lifting Thibs overall head coaching record to 578-420 in his 13-years leading NBA teams.
Related: Suns Seeking a Timberwolves-Friendly Return for Kevin Durant…
The only real stain on Thibs’ head coaching career, from a wins/losses standpoint, was his three-year stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves, in which he went 97-107. It’s the only NBA head coaching job Tom Thibodeau has had in which his team didn’t have a winning record when he left.
Tom Thibodeau Team Games Wins Losses Win% PlayoffGames PlayoffWins PlayoffLosses PlayoffWin%
Total 998 578 420 .579 103 48 55 .466
5 seasons CHI 394 255 139 .647 51 23 28 .451
3 seasons MIN 204 97 107 .475 5 1 4 .200
5 seasons NYK 400 226 174 .565 47 24 23 .511
Basketball-Reference
Mentioned in this article: former coaches Tom Thibodeau More About:Minnesota Timberwolves