Report: James Dolan Supported Leon Rose’s Decision To Fire Tom Thibodeau

According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, New York Knicks owner James Dolan supported president Leon Rose’s decision to fire Tom Thibodeau as head coach. 

Rose fired Thibodeau on Tuesday. 

“Per league sources, the Knicks relieved Thibodeau of his duties after the team reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years but failed to advance to the NBA Finals,” Edwards III wrote. “With the goal of winning a championship, league sources told The Athletic that this organization needed a new voice and this was the first step in a process of reaching those heights. Those sources also said it was a decision made by team president Leon Rose with the backing of owner James Dolan.”

The Knicks made the conference finals this year for the first time since 2000. They lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games. 

New York beat the Detroit Pistons in the first round and the Boston Celtics in the second round of this year’s playoffs. 

Thibodeau joined the Knicks in 2020. He went 226-174 in the regular season and 24-23 in the playoffs. 

“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Rose said in a statement. “This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.

“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

Thibodeau has coached the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Knicks. He has a .579 career win percentage as a head coach, the highest by any coach without a Finals appearance in NBA history (minimum 300 games coached), according to ESPN Research.