“Tom Thibodeau wouldn’t acknowledge me, he’d just look the other way”: Former LeBron James teammate Kyle Korver opens up about his relationship with the coach during their time in Chicago

Tom Thibodeau is one of the best coaches in the NBA. The former Bulls coach never holds back to put his players to the grinder, he did that with Kyle Korver during their time in Chicago.

Tom Thibodeau has become a hero in New York since his first season with the Knicks. The head coach of the Knicks Tom was named NBA Coach of the Year last season by leading the team to a 41-31 record. They finished fourth overall in the East and made their first playoffs appearance since the 2012-13 season.

Thibodeau can make it happen for a struggling team. Before getting his first job as a Head coach, he worked 20 years as an assistant coach in the NBA. He did a similar job during his first season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 2010.

The Thibs-led Bulls finished their season at the top of the table behind Derrick Rose’s MVP season. The famous Big-3 of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami couldn’t stop Tom and co from finishing first in the Eastern Conference. Tom won his first Red Auerbach Trophy in his first season as a head coach.

Also read: “Allen Iverson was breathing confidence in me”: Kyle Korver describes how the Sixers legend gave him confidence to be a relentless shooter

Alongside Rose, Bull’s starting lineup had Keith Bogans, Deng, Boozer, and Joakim Noah. And their exciting bench featured Taj Gibson, Kyle Korver, and a few other players who wreaked havoc that year with Rose.

Recently Korver opened up about his relationship with Thibodeau.

Kyle Korver says Tom Thibodeau totally ignored him during his time in Chicago

The 2015 NBA All-Star joined fellow former sharpshooter JJ Reddick on his podcast “The Old Man and The Three”. They talked about Korver’s NBA career, his personal life and his time in Chicago.

Korver has arguably been the most consistent shooter in the history of the league. He has kept his 3-point shooting above 40% for most of his career. At his peak, he was converting more than half of his shots from downtown. He is 5th in all-time 3-pointers made, and 10th in 3-point percentage.

Considering percentage and volume together only Steph Curry comes up better than him. But Tom didn’t just want him to be open and shoot 3 all the time. He expected Korver to be at his best defensively for which most of the 3-point shooters like him and JJ aren’t respected enough in the league.

Coach and Kyle even came to a point where Tom “wouldn’t even like to acknowledge him”. Not only in training and games but also off the court “he’d just look the other way” when Korver would be near him. That treatment did work well for Korver, he averaged over 41% from the perimeter in both the seasons with the Bulls and was a big defensive presence.

Also read: “Michael Jordan needed a break, LeBron James didn’t”: Kyle Korver breaks down the most impressive aspects of what makes the Lakers superstar great

Korver went on to accept that his time with Tom in Chicago made him learn a lot of things and made him a better player. Learning the “fundamentals” and “non-negotiables” on the defensive side of the court, as he wasn’t that athletic to cover up if he did a mistake.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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