Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t use any words.
Hours after the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau as their head coach, Towns used his Instagram story to re-share an image showing him and Thibodeau sitting next to each other and smiling.
Towns had originally posted the undated photo as part of an end-of-season tribute after the Indiana Pacers eliminated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Reactions to Thibodeau’s firing continue to pour in, with many still stunned the Knicks parted ways with one of the winningest coaches in franchise history after he led them to their first conference finals in a quarter-century.
“I was actually sitting in shock when I heard,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino told WFAN’s Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata.
“About 10 minutes prior to Thibs getting fired, I said to someone, ‘What is wrong with you? There’s no way that Thibs is going to get fired. It shouldn’t even be talked about.’ And then 10 minutes later, I got a text from the same guy.”
Pitino was the Knicks’ head coach from 1987-89 — and an assistant from 1983-85 — but said during Wednesday’s interview that he would not be interested in returning to the job.
“I would never wish myself that at this stage in my life,” Pitino, 72, said.
He also opined that the Knicks’ playoff defeat was not Thibodeau’s fault, but rather that of the roster, and suggested whomever is hired as the next head coach will face “probably the biggest amount of pressure I’ve seen in all my tenure rooting for the Knicks.”
Pitino said Jay Wright — who won NCAA championships with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart at Villanova — would be a “home run.”
“He’s got the personality to handle New York,” Pitino said. “He’s got the charisma. He makes a lot of sense, obviously, with the Villanova guys. But I will tell you, coaching the guys in college and coaching the guys in the pros is different.”
Mike Greenberg shared a similar sentiment on social media on Tuesday. After he described Thibodeau’s ouster as a “startlingly terrible decision,” the ESPN host wrote that Wright was the only candidate who “would make this firing make sense.”
June 4, 2025: Out!
New York Daily News Back page for June 4, 2025: Despite molding Knicks into a contender, Thibs fired after failing to reach Finals. Three days after Pacers bounce his Knicks from East Finals, Tom Thibodeau is fired as team looks for new voice to lead it to its first NBA title since 1973.
Stephen A. Smith also expressed disbelief, asking on his podcast, “Why the hell is [Thibodeau] out of a job?”
Hart offered one of the earliest reactions, writing moments after Thibodeau was fired, “Forever grateful. Thank you!”
Thibodeau’s 226 wins in five seasons as the Knicks coach are the fourth most in franchise history.
The Knicks made the playoffs in four of his five seasons, including each of the last three, after missing the postseason in each of the seven years before his arrival. This year’s conference finals berth was the Knicks’ first since 2000.
But the Knicks seek a new leader to take them further, with team president Leon Rose saying in a statement that the organization is “singularly focused on winning a championship.
“I am a Tom Thibodeau fan,” wrote actor Ben Stiller, a Knicks superfan who attended games, home and away, throughout their playoff run.
“He brought this team back,” Stiller continued. “I felt he gave every bit of himself and was always looking to improve. I will always be grateful for how far he brought the Knicks. They are relevant again. They are championship contenders again. The Knicks became winners again with him.”
Brunson, the Knicks’ team captain, is yet to react publicly to the firing, but he made his support for Thibodeau clear when he was asked about the coach after Saturday’s season-ending Game 6 loss.
“Is that a real question right now?” Brunson said. “You just asked me if I believe [Thibodeau] is the right guy. Yes. Come on.”
