Tom Thibodeau Finally Addresses The Betrayal He Felt When He Was Fired by the Knicks

The past few seasons have been highly successful for the New York Knicks, and last year, they fell just one step short of finally returning to the NBA Finals for the first time in over two decades. For the second straight year, they were beaten by the Indiana Pacers, and as a result, the team made the shocking decision to move on from head coach Tom Thibodeau.

They would then replace him with former Kings bench boss Mike Brown, with the team optimistic that this was the move that could help them take the final step. Now, Thibodeau has seemingly opened up on the situation, revealing to Ian O'Connor of The Athletic just how betrayed he felt by the organization. 

“When you find out that people you helped either weren’t with you in the end or didn’t fight for you like you fought for them, that stings.”

This comes on the back of a report that revealed, after their postseason struggles, both Jalen Brunson and Leon Rose stopped defending Thibodeau behind the scenes, leading to his exit from the team. Given this, it's no surprise that Thibs felt betrayed, as he believed he was a crucial part of this turnaround and that he would be a key piece to take them back to the NBA Finals.

Ultimately, though, the team believes that Brown's offensive schemes and ability to adapt on the fly are a major upgrade over Thibodeau, and with an incredibly deep team, the Knicks are now seemingly ready for a big run in 2025–26 without Thibs.