Concerning NBA Trend Emerges After Tom Thibodeau‘s Firing

Thibodeau won Coach of the Year honors in 2021, his first season with the Knicks. That year, Thibodeau guided the Knicks to the playoffs in a pandemic-affected season; it was New York's first postseason appearance in eight years. This season, the Knicks reached the conference finals for the first time since 2000, but that was not enough to save Thibodeau's job in the Big Apple.

The trend began before Thibodeau, though. Dwane Casey won Coach of the Year in 2018, when he led the Toronto Raptors to a 59-23 record, but a second-round playoff exit led to his firing that summer. 

The man who replaced Casey was Nick Nurse, who led the Raptors to a maiden NBA title in 2019 before winning Coach of the Year in 2020, in the wake of Kawhi Leonard's departure. However, Toronto's eventual stagnation prompted the organization to rebuild, and the Raptors fired Nurse in 2023.

In 2019, Mike Budenholzer was named NBA Coach of the Year after he won 60 games in his first season as the Milwaukee Bucks' head coach. In 2021, Milwaukee won its first title since 1971; two years later, a first-round loss to the Miami Heat cost Budenholzer his job.

Monty Williams led the Phoenix Suns to a franchise-record 64 wins in 2021-22, but the Suns were not quite the same after a seven-game conference semifinal loss to the Dallas Mavericks that season. Williams lasted one more season in Phoenix before Suns owner Mat Ishbia dismissed him.

Finally, Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown was named Coach of the Year in 2023 after he ended the franchise's 16-year playoff drought. But after missing the playoffs the following season, and amid a 13-18 start in 2024-25, Brown was fired in December as Sacramento began another franchise reboot.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault was the NBA's Coach of the Year in 2024, and he has just guided Oklahoma City to the Finals for the first time in 13 years. However, if this trend holds firm, even Daigneault may be on the hot seat sooner than fans expect.