Make it 2-2-4 for Tom Thibodeau!
Tom Thibodeau added another milestone to his tenure with the New York Knicks on Saturday, recording his 224th win with the franchise to surpass Pat Riley for fourth on the team’s all-time coaching wins list.
The 121–105 blowout victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday also marked win No. 49 of the season for the Knicks, who continue to assert themselves as a top-three team in the Eastern Conference and are so close to clinching the No. 3 seed for the playoffs.
Continue to lead the way, Coach!
Congrats Coach Thibs, on becoming the 4th winningest coach in Knicks history pic.twitter.com/Qe8v9RXPH7
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 5, 2025
Back to Thibodeau, the honcho now trails only GOAT Red Holzman (613), Joe Lapchick (326), and Jeff Van Gundy (248) in Knicks coaching victories.
Thibs is the first Knicks coach since Van Gundy (1996-02) to reach a fifth season at the helm, and the win over Atlanta came well after Thibodeau led the Knicks to their third consecutive playoff appearance under his leadership and fourth in five campaigns.
Thibodeau, who would have thought, downplayed the achievement.
“All the individual stuff, it’s a byproduct of the team working together,” Thibs said. “I’ve had a great team. I’ve got great players. It’s a great organization, so you share in all that stuff as a group.
“As far as Pat Riley, he’s unbelievable, probably the best to ever do it. I was fortunate to be with Jeff, and Jeff I put up there with anybody.”
Asked if he considered himself part of Riley’s coaching tree, Thibodeau chuckled. “I’m a mutt,” Thibs said. “I’ve been around a lot of people that have had great influence on me.”
Meanwhile, Thibs’ favorite player—Josh Hart, if you’re new around these places— finished one rebound shy of another triple-double on Saturday and said after the game on Saturday that the milestone was just a reflection of Thibs’ madness.
“It’s dope. It’s a tribute to the talent that he has in terms of coaching and success,” Hart said. “It also shows the stability the franchise has with him—and needs with him. A great accomplishment, and hopefully, we keep going up.
“His preparation is top tier. Sometimes, we’d like him to get out of the office and enjoy life a little bit. He has an amazing house, so sometimes we’d like him to at least go home and enjoy it.”
While Red Holzman’s franchise record is basically unreachable, the next marker—Van Gundy’s 248—could fall by early next season. Note how I wrote could, not should.
A win on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns would give the Knicks 50 victories for the second straight year. Will Thibs still be on the Madison Square Garden sidelines by the time New York wins 50 more games? That’s up for debate.