Tom Thibodeau’s firing after the New York Knicks’ 2024/25 season raised many eyebrows, given that he was the man behind the franchise’s resurgence. Thibodeau had taken them back to the Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years and came close to toppling the Indiana Pacers. With him on the sidelines, there was hope and optimism, especially considering his strong relationship with the face of the team, Jalen Brunson.
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The synergy between a head coach and a team’s star player is crucial. It can blossom into something special, creating an understanding that leads to success. We saw it with Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan, and more recently with Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry. Unfortunately, New York’s front office took the defeat to the Pacers quite harshly.
Yes, the Big Apple craved a Finals appearance and a championship. But perhaps, had they waited another year, they could have gotten there. Instead, the Knicks did not take the player-coach chemistry into account before giving Tibs the axe. It did not matter to them that Brunson had known Thibodeau since he was a child, something Fred Katz mentioned on The Ringer NBA Show recently.
“Jalen Brunson has obviously backed Thibs since he was like 5 years old. Literally, he’s known Thibs for so long that the first time he met Thibs, he cannot remember, because he was too young to retain memories,” Katz shared. It was a wild, but true fact.
Jalen’s father, Rick Brunson, was an assistant to Thibodeau in Chicago, Minnesota, and New York. The two have experienced a lot of success together, which led to the coach meeting his assistant’s son early on. Rick and Thibodeau are so close that the Brunson family motto is something Jalen took from the coach.
“Like, they were so close that the Brunson family motto is ‘The magic is in the work.’ And the reason that’s the Brunson family motto is because Thibs used to say that to Rick when he coached him, and Rick stole it from him,” Katz added.
The Brunsons, quite literally, instilled into the family bloodline something that Thibs is known for saying. In that sense, Jalen was destined to end up with him. “Jalen was almost raised to play for Thibs… One of the reasons he went to New York was because he wanted to play for Thibs. It’s not a surprise that he goes to New York, and Thibs is the guy who makes him a star,” the NBA journalist continued.
With that in mind, it’s pretty wild that the Knicks decided to part ways with Thibodeau. Brunson is such a key player to the franchise that they shouldn’t want to do anything to upset him, yet he has already expressed distaste with the firing.
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We’ll see if it turns into more drama in New York once the season starts. The team decided to hire Mike Brown, who was let go by the Sacramento Kings in the middle of last season. It’s not exactly the flashiest hire of the offseason, but it’s a respectable name. Now, Brunson will have to adjust to a new system, one that he was not raised in.
