The New York Knicks are now winners of nine straight games. On Wednesday, they defeated the Utah Jazz by the score of 119-103. That improved their record to 24-10, fourth-best in the entire NBA.
The season didn’t start off too hot for the Knicks though. They were under .500 at 5-6 after 11 games. Yes, they needed to integrate new pieces Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns into their system, but they acquired them with becoming a championship contender in mind.
They are 19-4 since, and both of those new additions have been playing great of late. The 29-year-old Towns has actually been wonderful all season. It’s somewhat hard to believe how well-documented it is that he and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau certainly didn’t always see eye-to-eye when both were with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Karl-Anthony Towns Likes The 2025 Version Of Tom Thibodeau
Karl-Anthony Towns Comments On Current Tom Thibodeau
Tuesday was another excellent performance from the 7-foot center. Towns dropped 31 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and dished out four assists. His 13.7 rebounds per contest place him only behind Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings, who is averaging 13.8. Towns is also scoring 24.7 points per outing while shooting 54.8% from the field, 44.0% from beyond the arc, and 83.6% from the foul line.
The first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves, Towns spent his first nine seasons with Minnesota. Prior to his second season, Thibodeau was named head coach of the Timberwolves. Their partnership in Minnesota lasted for 2.5 seasons, until Thibodeau was fired by the club midway through the 2018-19 season.
After Tuesday’s game, Towns gave this response on how his current and former head coach has changed over the years. He said,
“He’s a different man. I like this version going into 2025. You see him smile. I’ve grown since the time when we were together in Minnesota, he’s grown. This game of life, we’re just finding ourselves getting better with time.”
Karl-Anthony Towns talks about Tom Thibodeau:
“He’s a different man. I like this version going into 2025. You see him smile”
“I’ve grown since the time when we were together in Minnesota, he’s grown. This game of life, we’re just finding ourselves getting better with time” pic.twitter.com/mjtl8nAY3x
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 2, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
While Thibodeau often has a scowl on his face with folded arms in front of him throughout the game, you do occasionally see a smile break out. MSG broadcaster Mike Breen often points it out stating that it is a happier Thibodeau.
During their first get together though, not everything was peaches and cream for Towns and Thibodeau.
Didn’t Always Get Along In Minnesota
Towns didn’t like how Thibodeau only focused on basketball during their time together in Minnesota, and not developing the young players as becoming better human beings. Thibodeau, always seen as a defensive-minded coach, wanted to see the younger version of Towns give more effort on that side of the ball.
After a preseason game last season between the Timberwolves and Knicks, Towns revealed that he and Thibodeau squashed any beef they had years ago. Per the New York Post, Towns simply said,
“Two grown men got together and had a conversation. It was done. It was done years ago.”
Knicks fans are certainly pleased that conversation was had between the two men. Without it, there is a strong possibility that Thibodeau wouldn’t have agreed to acquire Towns during the offseason.
The post Karl-Anthony Towns Likes The 2025 Version Of Tom Thibodeau appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.