May 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau looks on in the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers during game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Knicks Players Questioned Tom Thibodeau's Preparation Tactics

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 3:00 PM ET

As successful as Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks were during his tenure, his fit with this most recent version of the team seems far from ideal.

It's already been reported that several players spoke out against the two-time Coach of the Year winner in their exit interviews, prompting the team to pull the chair out from under Thibodeau mere days after the Knicks' elimination from the Eastern Conference Finals. Others aired out grievances publicly during the season, and we're hearing further reports that questions about Thibodeau's coaching tendencies persisted during the rocky season.

Knicks insider Ian Begley went in on the disagreements between players and coach, now going as far as to say that he may have failed to prepare his contending team for specific situations. He potentially cost his team from the chemistry they could've built up during scrimmages, never settling his differences with the confused players.

The Knicks did not scrimmage often or work on specific end-game situations during the season under Tom Thibodeau, per @IanBegley

More from Ian:

"The Knicks didn’t have full scrimmages during an entire training camp one season, which is uncommon. The players found it odd that… pic.twitter.com/zbPswGnBpk
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 12, 2025

This only provided more ammo to players like Mikal Bridges, who memorably spoke to the media about the lack of balance in their offense to Thibodeau's irritation. They were very Jalen Brunson-dependent all season, and despite some heroics in the playoffs, their offense grew predictable when the Clutch Player of the Year ended up dominating the ball in every fourth quarter.

Ownership certainly heard the complaints coming from the media, the fans and, evidently, their own locker room, pulling the plug on the Thibodeau era after five years, eight total playoff series appearances and a 4-4 record in the postseason.

His run to the conference finals, inspiring as it was, wasn't enough to save him from the trail of disagreements he had with the men wearing the uniforms, whom the coach generally failed to see eye-to-eye with as the roster fluctuated over his half-decade stint.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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