OKLAHOMA CITY – Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle knows the coaching business inside-out.
Not only as a head coach in the NBA for 25 years but also as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, which represents and supports the league’s coaches.
Carlisle wasn’t sure what to believe when news broke that the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau on June 3.
“When I first saw it, I thought it was one of those fake AI (artificial intelligence) things. No way. There’s no way possible,” Carlisle said June 4, the day before Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Indiana and Oklahoma City.
In five seasons with the Knicks, Thibodeau, 67, went 226-174 and led the Knicks to the playoffs four times, including an Eastern Conference finals appearance this season, marking the first time in 25 seasons the Knicks advanced to the East finals.
“I get asked frequently about these things,” Carlisle said. “I always say shocked. Sometimes you get numb and you’re not shocked. The Knicks have such a unique situation with so much attention and such a large fan base and such a worldwide following, it’s one of the most difficult jobs to take. The guys that have been most successful, Red Holzman, Pat Riley, Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Pitino had a short run but a very effective run.
“There were a lot of lean years. Thibs went in there and changed so much. So, you look at all that, then what happened yesterday.”
Carlisle is confident Thibodeau, the Coach of the Year in 2010-2011 and 2020-21, will return to the NBA when he wants. Of the past seven Coach of the Year winners, just Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson (2024-25) and Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault (2023-24) remain with the same team. Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse, Thibodeau, Monty Williams and Mike Brown were all dismissed.
“Teams and ownership can make these decisions unilaterally, and it’s their right to do that,” Carlisle said. “So, Tom will certainly be fine. I don’t think he’s going to have any problem finding his next job. It’s just going to depend on when he’s ready to jump back in again.”