New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau continues to establish himself as one of the best coaches in franchise history. With Saturday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, Thibodeau has now passed Pat Riley for fourth on the franchise’s all-time wins list for a head coach.
Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau is now fourth on the franchise’s all-time wins list
The win was Thibodeau’s 224th of his Knicks tenure, which is 24 shy of tying Jeff Van Gundy for third on the list. Thibodeau has embarked on another winning season since becoming the Knicks’ coach in 2020 and is one win shy of back-to-back 50-win seasons.
At the time Thibodeau took over, the team was in a deep abyss of losing and constant coaching turnover. From 2016-2020, New York employed five different head coaches before Thibodeau, and all had winning percentages below .400.
The turnaround for the franchise began in Thibodeau’s first year with the organization. He led them back to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade in 2021, and Julius Randle emerged as an All-Star in the process.
Thibodeau has led a marvelous turnaround for the Knicks
After failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, he has now reached it in three consecutive seasons, and this year has the best roster that he has had since his days of coaching the Chicago Bulls in the early 2010s. Led by two All-Stars in Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks have a real chance to compete for a title this year.
A successful postseason will add more to Thibodeau’s strong Knicks resume, and the hope is that this is the year they finally take that step forward and reach the Eastern Conference Finals at the very least.