Kevin Garnett Uses Dikembe Mutombo To Make Fun Of The Knicks Repeatedly Failing To Interview Coaches

Joseph Galizia | 12/06/2025
Kevin Garnett (L), Tom Thibodeau (R)

One of the strangest stories of the NBA postseason has been the New York Knicks’ decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau. The dismissal of Thibs came after he led the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years. Suffice it to say, the decision was met with criticism.

If you assumed New York had a plan, they clearly didn’t. Over the last few days, they’ve attempted to conduct interviews with several working head coaches, including Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, and Jason Kidd. But those coaches’ respective squads (Rockets, Wolves, Mavericks) all denied them permission to interview.

Now, Quin Snyder, coach of the Atlanta Hawks, joins that list. It’s getting to the point where the beloved NY team is transforming back into the meme that Thibs worked so hard to pull them out of. Kevin Garnett has joined in on trashing the Knicks organization, and did so by dropping a GIF of an NBA legend.

“Everytime the Knicks asks for permission to interview,” KG wrote on X, then added the GIF of the late Dikembe Mutombo doing his iconic finger-waving no-no. “This is crazy,” added Garnett.

And to be honest, it IS crazy. Why would Knicks president Leon Rose can Thibs with no possible strategy of how to replace him? Did he assume that everyone wanted to come to New York? That’s clearly not the case. New York is a good basketball squad at the moment. But Thibs was the driving force that got them to the ECF.

Not only that, but it feels like this coaching decision could potentially undo the years of hard work Rose did to elevate the team back into a powerhouse of the league. The NBA is a different animal when Madison Square Garden is rocking and the Knicks are in the playoffs. Seeing them potentially drop out of obscurity because of such a dumb decision is sad to see.

Even Charles Barkley has called out New York. “The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” he said on the pre-Game 3 coverage of the NBA Finals, citing the lack of a plan as the core reason for his statement.

Whether Thibs should have been fired or not is based on opinion. Last year, the Knicks were knocked out in the second round. This year, the Conference Finals. That’s progression. So it seems they pulled the trigger at the worst possible time.

Not only that, but several Knicks stars like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mitchell Robinson were adamant about how much they loved Thibs as the team’s coach. New York better fix this, and fast.

Post Edited By: Sameen Nawathe
Kevin Garnett New York Knicks Tom Thibodeau firing

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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