Thibs Tribute Thread

[MrDollarBills]

Thank you Tom

[Meat]

Nothing but love for thibs, I hope he goes to like Charlotte or Washington and turns their franchise around like he did for the Knicks

[Capn'O]

Nothing but love for thibs, I hope he goes to like Charlotte or Washington and turns their franchise around like he did for the Knicks

his final act of love for us

[TKKnicks1]

Thanks Tom for your early heroics of bringing this franchise back but you most likely should have been fired after last season. FO gave you another chance because of all the injuries we endured during our post season run but the writing was already on the wall. Enjoy your 30 million dollar retirement bonus.

[JayTWill]

As someone who followed him during his Bull's years and thought he and his defensive system were the true MVP of the 2010-2011 Bulls I was happy to see the Knicks bring him in. I felt he brought a standard of competitiveness and effort that the team needed. Overtime it became clearer that the game may have passed him by in some ways and he may not have been willing to adjust.

Forever grateful for that 20-21 season and bringing the excitement back to the city and showing the NBA is just better when the Knicks are good.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Salute to Thibs. Did an excellent job overall. Helped get the orginazation back to a respectable level and build on that to take the team to the conference finals. Remarkable run. Thank you Thibs for all that you did

[8516knicks]

I don't know if we've ever done this for a coach, but I think this man definitely deserves one.

Today marks the end of an era.

Thibs brought pride back to Madison Square Garden.

But before the hot takes, before the debates about rotations or shot charts, let’s take a moment to say what truly matters:

Thibs mattered.

When he arrived in 2020, the Knicks were disrespected by everyone. He inherited a team that hadn’t tasted a playoff series win in nearly a decade, and a culture that had forgotten what it meant to fight. He got what F*cking Fizdale left behind.

And what did Thibs bring?

Accountability. Identity. Grit.

He made the Knicks matter again.

In just his first season, he turned a group of underdogs into a 4-seed, winning NBA Coach of the Year and awakening the Garden with chants it hadn’t heard in years: “Dee-fense!” and “MVP!” for a Julius Randle he helped unlock. He resurrected the careers of journeymen, forged a top-5 defense from grit and sweat, and made every game feel like war because to Thibs, they all were.

In a league that changes faster than the scoreboard, Thibs stayed true to who he was: loyal to effort, obsessed with preparation, and absolutely allergic to excuses. Thibs never mailed it in.

And maybe most of all he gave us playoff basketball in New York again. Three trips. Unforgettable runs. The kind of nights where the Garden roared.

He brought the belief that we could be champions back.

So, thank you, Coach Thibs.

You didn’t just coach the Knicks.

You restored their soul.

I'll be forever grateful that you handed off this team much better than you found it.

Well said.

[louisorr]

I'm really going to miss Thibs



about as much as I miss Larry Clown and Mike Damn Phony.

[nykballa2k4]

I was looking forward to a solid 8 years of actually good Knicks basketball with Thibs at the helm. This was too soon and now we have lost our floor. With Thibs, we knew we were getting a team that was going to have effort, was going to get floor burns, was going to play with heart (and sometimes Hart, and Hartenstein). This hurts.

There may be merit to this sort of a move - Pistons firing Carlisle to get Brown before their chip, Warriors replacing Jackson with Kerr. We have been through so much as a fan base. Cavalcade of crap. A plethora of pathetic pompom pushing posers. We finally had one. Someone reliable. Someone who cared about the Knicks as much as the fans did and had the tools/know how to make our wish a reality.

In about a year from now, if Thibs was still here, we could have a reasonable (10% chance) of winning it all. There would have been nothing sweeter for us, our players, our city, and our coach than that. Now we have to hope we find that Kerr, that Phil Jackson, that rare coach who can take the chicken salad Thibs had made from chicken **** and turn it into peeking duck.

Good luck.

Thank you Tom.

[Adelheid]

thank you for bringing some prestige back to the knicks name

You ride into the sunset reaching the eastern conference finals and this is the best way to exit for you, as there is no guarantee the team is reaching the ecf/finals next season without improvements

time for you to take a long rest, buddy....you deserve it.

[FrozenEnvelope]

We were a dumpster fire before he arrived and he left us with back to back 50 win seasons and a trip to the ECF.

Thank you always and forever Thibs!

[TKKnicks1]

Two page tribute. Sounds about right.

[BKlutch]

Thibs gave us everything he had. He never failed to try his best, and you could see the effects of stress on him physically. He always supported his players and never dissed them, no matter how inept or poor their play, or even when they acted like petulent children. He was also consistent in never spilling the beans about his plans Uner Thibs, we great from a shyt team to one that knocked off the defending champs, Boston. We nearly reached the ECF last year, but injuries killed us. This year, we went further than we have in 25 years, but we fell short. So maybe the fit between coach and players worked well in the locker room but not as well on the court. I'll always remember Thibs for the good stuff he did for us and wish him only the best in the future.

[cgmw]

Real testament to the power of the old school — just hard work, nose-to-the-grindstone throwback — and it worked!

Often didn’t agree with his methods, but damn do I have nothing but respect and gratitude for Coach Thibs. He was one Game 1 lucky bounce away from facing a very young Thunder team in the Finals. Had he brought home the ‘chip, you hang his name in the damn rafters immediately.

But that’s the way it goes, and I hope he figures out what to do with himself and his $30m because it sure looks like he’s just a coaching automaton with no other hobbies, interests, skills or social connections. I’d love to see him go full Bellicheck with a 24 year old influencer.

[Montmorencie]

Say whatever you want Thibs was breathing NY. Sad day, most likely followed up by absolutely nothing. Because unless you land Giannis or Luka this team isn't going anywhere past ECF.

[Stannis]

Nothing but respect for him

Thank you Thibs!!!!

[Luv those Knicks]

Basketball Buck Showalter. Thanks for raising the floor. Now time for a real innovator to take us to the promised land

I'm skeptical that such a coach exists, but I hope I'm wrong.

I also think it's funny that the Thibs was fired thread has 51 pages and the Thibs Tribute thread has 2. I think that shows how most fans feel, and I like Thibs. But I still find that ratio funny.

[NoStatsGuy]

everything is already being said a lot of times by all of you guys.

Thibs will forever be all love and much respect. He had his flaws and i agree with the cristicism. I think he deserved another shot tho. with Leon openly communicating, that he needs to adjust and what we need to improve.

But hey, i can totally see why people want to see another voice.

Big footsteps for the next coach. he better deliver or this can backfire. championship level coaches dont grow on trees.

[Kampuchea]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=ZScbCOS-e1RwvSq7ABkKLQ

[Zenzibar]

We NY fans normally bytch about EVERYTHING, so take it for what it is. But you helped activate the fanbase not only in NY but across the country.

Thank you Sir Tom and any team looking to get better needs your services NOW and you can always use me as reference. Once a Knick always a Knick.

You deserve nothing but praise, thank you Coach.