The New York Knicks' firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau caught the NBA off-guard and prompted emotional responses from fans on social media. But Knicks players themselves might be singing a different tune following Thibodeau's exit.
A report in the New York Post claims that Knicks stars Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns were among those seen partying at The Fleur Room on the West Side of Manhattan less than 24 hours before the franchise parted ways with Thibodeau. Though Towns and guard Josh Hart later reacted to the news on Instagram, Knicks president Leon Rose is among those in New York looking ahead to the future, with a new voice leading the locker room.
Still, the report of Knicks players partying in the aftermath of New York's elimination from the Eastern Conference finals did not escape the attention of Miami Heat forward Kevin Love.
Love took to Instagram to post a reel with footage from the 2012 film "Project X," which he captioned "Knicks players within 72 hours of losing in the Conference Finals and their head coach getting fired…f*** it WIN OR LOSE WE STILL BOOSE!!!"
In under 50 minutes, the post had received more than 16,000 likes, and Love's most famous teammate from his Cleveland Cavaliers days had reacted to it.
The post about the Knicks drama captured LeBron James' attention, as the Los Angeles Lakers forward -- always privy to events going on around the NBA -- replied with 10 "crying laughing" emojis in response to the less-than-ideal optics from the Knicks players' party.
It remains to be seen which coach New York identifies to replace Thibodeau, but in the meantime, James and Love are getting plenty of laughs out of the situation.