One week after completing an exhilarating, shocking upset of the rival Boston Celtics in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the New York Knicks lost their second home game in a row to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night.
Former Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas took to social media in the immediate aftermath of the Knicks’ latest defeat and blasted New York head coach Tom Thibodeau. Thomas argued that “Thibs” teams have come up short in the postseason time and time again.
Thibodeau is in his fifth season at the helm in the Big Apple, following three years as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and five campaigns leading the Chicago Bulls. The 67-year-old has helped get the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five seasons (including each of the past three) and his squads have qualified for the tournament in 10 of his 13 years as a head coach.
However, Thibodeau has never made the NBA Finals as a head coach.
Prior to taking over the lead gig in Chicago ahead of the 2010-11 season, he was an assistant for the Timberwolves (1989-1991), San Antonio Spurs (1992-94), Philadelphia 76ers (1994-96), Knicks (1996-2003), Houston Rockets (2003-07) and Celtics (2007-2010). Thibodeau earned a championship ring with Boston as a part of Doc Rivers’ staff in 2008.
Thomas on Thibodeau: ‘This Happens to his Teams Every Year,’ They ‘Die Out’
New York blew a late double-digit lead in Game 1 and eventually lost in overtime, before seeing Indiana All-Star power forward Pascal Siakam erupt for 39 points in the Pacers Game 2 victory.
The Knicks’ starting unit continued its struggles in the conference finals, dropping to a staggering -29 plus-minus following Friday’s contest.
“Thibs getting out coached … this happens to his teams every year. They die out because he doesn’t trust his bench,” Thomas posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This is New York’s first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years.
Game 3 takes place on Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana.
A Closer Look Inside Thibodeau’s Playoff History
The Bulls made the playoffs every year during Thibodeau’s five-season run with the franchise.
Chicago earned the top seed and made the Eastern Conference Finals behind MVP point guard Derrick Rose during the 2011 postseason before falling to the Miami Heat‘s “Big 3” of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. The Bulls grabbed the No. 1 seed in 2012 again, but Rose’s torn ACL in Game 1 of the first round against the 76ers eventually led to eighth-seeded Philadelphia pulling off the series upset.
Despite being without Rose for the entire 2012-13 season, Thibodeau led the Bulls to the playoffs as the No. 5 seed, but they lost in the conference semifinals against the Heat. Chicago lost in the first round and conference semifinals again in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before Thibodeau was let go.
After one season off, he was hired by Minnesota ahead of the 2016-17 campaign. The Timberwolves won just 31 games in Thibodeau’s first season before securing the No. 8 seed and making the playoffs in 2018 for the first time in 14 years. They fell in the first round to the top-seeded Rockets and the Connecticut native was released by the club midway through the 2018-19 season.
Following another season off the court, Thibodeau was hired by the Knicks in July 2020.
New York lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs in 2021, despite having homecourt advantage, and then missed the postseason entirely in 2022.
The Knicks have steadily improved their regular season record each of the last three seasons, going from 47 wins in 2023 to 50 last season and 51 in 2025. They were upset by the eighth-seeded Heat in the 2023 conference semifinals and the Pacers (a six seed) in the same round last year, after holding 2-0 and 3-2 series leads.
