Knicks' Tom Thibodeau Moves Up in Coach Longevity Rankings

It won't bring about a "bang!" from Mike Breen, but New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has hit a big three.

Gregg Popovich's step down from the on-court helm of the San Antonio Spurs places Thibodeau in an interesting position: having been hired in July 2020, Thibodeau is now the third-longest-tenured active head coach in his current posting. Only Erik Spoelstra (Miami, 2008) and Steve Kerr (Golden State, 2014) lie ahead of him.

Technically speaking, Thibodeau shares third place with Billy Donovan (Chicago), Tyronn Lue (LA Clippers), and Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City), but he was the first of those men hired chronologically.

While some might be wary about giving Thibodeau a chance to keep moving on up, the Knicks have undeniably taken steps forward under his watch: since taking over, Thibodeau has amassed 226 regular season wins at the helm of the Knicks, the eighth-most in the NBA in that span. Along with Boston's Joe Mazzulla, Thibodeau is one of two coaches to guide his team to at least one playoff win in each of the last three seasons.

Thibodeau's longevity is also unique among modern Knicks coaches: when this season tipped off, he became the first Knicks boss to make it to his fifth season since Jeff Van Gundy did so at the turn of the century. Earlier this spring, Thibodeau moved past Pat Riley on the Knicks' all-time coaching wins list, sitting behind only Van Gundy, Joe Lapchick, and Red Holzman.

If it's up to certain Knicks stars, Thibodeau's reign will continue no matter what happens in their upcoming conference semifinal set against Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics.

"I'll say, Individually, he's meant a lot to my career," Brunson said in video from SNY before this postseason tipped off. "There's a lot of players who can say they've definitely benefited from Tom Thibodeau in his career. But I think, as a team, we're always in a position where we compete in the postseason, since I've been here. He's a very prepared individual. He's done a lot for my career. So I'm always looking to support him. Always."

“He’s used to it, bullseye on his back for that," Josh Hart added on Friday,per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News."He’s had a bullseye on his back the whole season for minutes, rotations, all kinds of stuff. That’s our coach. We’re going to back him 100 percent.”

Thibodeau's de facto promotion on the longevity leaderboard comes as a result of Popovich stepping away from the Spurs' top spot after nearly three decades. Popovich amassed five championships, the first coming against the Knicks in 1999, and an NBA-record 1,422 regular season victories. Having been absent from the teams since November due to health issues, Popovich will be moving to a front office role within the organization.