Just days after being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Knicks shocked the NBA world with the decision to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau. The decision comes following the Knicks reaching the conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

In the immediate aftermath of the decision, Knicks team president Leon Rose released a statement explaining the choice to fire Tom Thibodeau.

“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans. This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction. We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach,” Leon Rose wrote.

“He led us with not only class and professionalism for the past five season, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories,” Rose continued.

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“Ultimately we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

The Knicks’ decision to fire Tom Thibodeau comes after five seasons spent as head coach. During that time, the Knicks made the playoffs in four of his five seasons at the helm. The team posted a winning record in all but one of those seasons, and Thibodeau was named the 2020-21 Coach of the Year.

The Knicks’ search for a new head coach begins amid a pursuit for a championship. The last time the franchise reached the NBA Finals was in 1999 when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. The organization’s last title came in 1973 during the days of Willis Reed and Walt Frazier.