Tom Thibodeau may no longer be the head coach of the New York Knicks, but there is no love lost from one of his players, Josh Hart.
Hart recently posted this on his X account amid some of the fan bases’ rejoice over the Thibodeau sacking:
All yall talking trash about Thibs lame as hell. A different direction was taken but yall should be appreciative for what he did for the team and organization
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) June 12, 2025
Thibodeau is far from flawless as a coach and has certainly earned some of the criticism thrown his way over the years.
Whether it be heavy minutes for star players during a Wednesday night game in Utah in January, a lack of faith in his bench, or a sometimes stubborn approach to in-game adjustments, Thibodeau had his share of doubters.
However, he also led the Knicks to their best run since the Patrick Ewing days.
After taking over before the 2020-21 season, Thibodeau accumulated a 226-174 regular season record, highlighted by consecutive 50+ win seasons (2024-25) for the first time since 1994-95.
New York had lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in each of the past two seasons, and the team looked destined to stay in that purgatory. However, the Karl-Anthony Towns addition changed everything, and the Knicks shocked the defending Champion Boston Celtics in six games.
Perhaps another year with Thibodeau would have been best for this core. There was a lot to like about this iteration of New York, and while the Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers stung, they are not an insurmountable foe.
Hart is arguably the most deserving player of the fans’ respect, and while these comments may ruffle some feathers, he has every right and more to defend Thibodeau.
