Feb 23, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; ESPN broadcasters Mark Jackson (left), Jeff Van Gundy (center) and Mike Breen during the NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Stephen A Smith Urges Knicks to Hire Ex-Warriors Coach

Originally posted on Golden State Warriors on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 7:41 PM ET

The New York Knicks made the tough decision after their Eastern Conference Finals loss against the Indiana Pacers to part ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau ended his tenure with the Knicks with the fourth most wins in the franchise history, bringing them to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.

Now, with the team looking for their next head coach, rumors continue to be floated far and wide, with the most recent one surrounding Dallas Mavericks' coach Jason Kidd . However, as a Knicks fan and sports media star, ESPN's Stephen A Smith expressed his thoughts on who they should hire, pointing toward an ex-Golden State Warriors coach and former coworker of his at ESPN.

Stephen A. Smith wants the Knicks to look at Mark Jackson

“This man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that.”

( @FirstTake / h/t @awfulannouncing )

pic.twitter.com/CCTyMK5sR3
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 9, 2025

Speaking on First Take, Stephen A Smith said that ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson should be in consideration for the Knicks job, even though he's been out of coaching since 2014 after going 51-31 with Golden State.

“This man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that," Smith shared on the show. After the Warriors pivoted to Kerr for the 2014-15 season, they won the championship that year, but Jackson was no longer there to be credited with the success.

Thank you, Coach Thibodeau. pic.twitter.com/bInhvWtxPI
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 3, 2025

On top of showing promise in his short stint as a head coach with the Warriors, Jackson played 500 games for the Knicks in his career. He was especially good during his first two seasons with the team, earning an All-Star selection and finishing 13th in MVP voting as a rookie.

However, Jackson's name has been in conversations for head coaching opportunities for years now, and perhaps the ship has sailed on a return to coaching for the former St. John's star.

This article first appeared on Golden State Warriors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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