The NBA world was rocked today by a bombshell story. The New York Knicks have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons with the team, despite back-to-back 50-win campaigns and leading the squad to its first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years.
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The decision has left many Knicks fans with a bad taste in their mouths, including famed analyst Stephen A. Smith. SAS released a video on his YouTube Channel titled WEAK!, where he ripped into Knicks president Leon Rose for such a drastic reactionary move.
“If you’re gonna make a decision like this, you stand before the public, and you tell ’em why,” demanded Smith. And he’s right. Thibs quite literally brought the franchise out of obscurity. He revived b-ball in the city of New York, giving Knicks fans something to believe in again.
Smith further questioned whether this decision had been in the works for a while by Rose and company. “I think the only way that you skid over that and let that go is if Ty Lue decides to depart from the Los Angeles Clippers, or you got a Mike Malone or a Jay Wright coming into play,” he said. “I don’t know if they’ll do a better job than Thibs, but they both can coach.”
He remained unconvinced that it was a strategy and refused to give Rose the benefit of the doubt. “If there’s some coaching search, and you don’t know definitively who you want or who you want to bring on board when you made this move to let Thibs go, it looks like Thibs got screwed.”
Thibs certainly deserves some criticism. His failure to utilize the bench was a major reason the Knicks wore down against the Indiana Pacers, who boast one of the deepest benches in the league.
Still, an Eastern Conference Finals appearance is no small feat, especially considering they had to beat the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, to get there. Few expected New York to get past the C’s.
“I just think that, when the man just took you to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, when the team wasn’t what it was last year it terms of grit because of the moves you made as the executive of the team, firing the coach is just bordering on a scapegoat status,” claimed Smith.
One big question in store for the Knicks is what happens next, a question that SAS was not afraid to ask.” Where do they go from here? That’s how I’m looking at it,” Smith barked.
Rose may have played a part in New York’s return to the limelight, but like Thibs, he deserves some criticism as well. The Knicks were just two wins away—one, if you count the improbable Game 1 collapse against Indy—from reaching the NBA Finals.
Unless there are some secret offseason moves in the works, like adding Kevin Durant or trading everything for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the firing of Thibodeau just doesn’t sit right. It’s a sour way for New York to start their offseason. Yes, the championship drought continues, but the success of the 2024–2025 season shouldn’t be overlooked.
Will this move age like fine wine or spoil like milk? Only time will tell.
