Knicks Coach Wins Dubious Honor For 3rd Straight Season

Despite one of his finest efforts yet, NBA opponents apparently don't want to play for New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Apr 12, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau looks on during the / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Thibodeau brought a three-peat to the New York Knicks, but not in the way fans envisioned.

For the third straight season, the New York Knicks head coach won the dubious honor of standing as the NBA head coach that opponents are least likely to play for in the annual anonymous player poll conducted by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Not only does Thibodeau retain his title, he's apparently fortifying his lead: Thibodeau was over 37 percentage points ahead of runner-up Doc Rivers (Milwaukee), his largest margin of victory to date.

The notion of Thibodeau overworking his veterans appeared to come into play: one player said he was "too old for those practices" while another claimed that Thibodeau was "playing everyone 48 minutes."

Apr 12, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Lonnie Walker IV (8) runs up court after / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Thibodeau, who has brushed off criticisms about his rotation earlier this season, will likely be fine with his results doing the talking: despite several major injuries (including a season-ending shoulder ailment for three-time All-Star Julius Randle) and a turnstile roster, Thibodeau guided the Knicks to their best season in over a decade, reaching the 50-win and second-seed landmarks for the first time since 2013.

Thibodeau's proteges are more than happy to come to his defense: Josh Hart publicly ripped the fact that Thibodeau was excluded from the list of NBA Coach of the Year candidates released on Sunday while first-year New Yorker Donte DiVincenzo sang his praises in a report from Fred Katz of The Athletic.

“Thibs is a great leader," DiVincenzo, the Knicks' newly-minted leader in single-season three-pointers, said. "He’s a great head coach and he’s done an amazing job this year not only dealing with injuries in and out of the lineup but also getting the best out of every single player on our team. I’m having a career year. Different guys on the team are having career years.”

Thibodeau will get a chance to showcase his talents further on Monday night when the Knicks look to take a 2-0 lead on Philadelphia in a best-of-seven, opening round playoff series (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT).

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