Tom Thibodeau
Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr., nicknamed "Thibs", is an American basketball coach who was most recently the head coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association. He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national team from 2013 to 2016, and helped them win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.
As a defensive coach, he helped the Houston Rockets rank among the top 5 in the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense from 2004 to 2007, and he has helped his team finish in the league's top 10 in team defense 15 times. He was part of the 1999 NBA Finals as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks before joining the Boston Celtics as a defensive coach. With the Celtics, he won the 2008 NBA Finals as well as helping guide them back to the 2010 NBA Finals.
In 2010, he became head coach of the Chicago Bulls. He was named the NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Bulls to a 62-win season. He was head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2016 to 2019, before becoming the Knicks' head coach. He won the Coach of the Year award again in 2021 after leading the Knicks to their first playoff berth in eight seasons. In 2025, he led the Knicks to their first conference finals appearance in 25 years, and was fired at the end of the season. He has coached in 214 playoff games as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach.
Early life
Thibodeau was born on January 17, 1958, in New Britain, Connecticut. He attended New Britain High School, where he excelled in basketball.College career
Thibodeau played basketball at Salem State College, serving as captain during the 1980–81 season. During his time with the Vikings, the six-foot-two-inch Thibodeau helped Salem State reach consecutive Division III national tournaments. In 1980, Thibodeau helped Salem State win the league championship and the school's first NCAA Tournament bid.Coaching career
Salem State (1981–1985)
Upon graduating, he became an assistant coach at the school in 1981. In 1984, at age 25, he became head coach at Salem State after serving three years as an assistant.Harvard (1985–1989)
One season later he became an assistant coach at Harvard University, where he spent the next four seasons.While coaching in college, Thibodeau attended coaching clinics and visited the practices of many of the top coaches in the U.S., including Hall of Fame coaches Bobby Knight, Rick Pitino, Hubie Brown, Gary Williams, Morgan Wootten, and Jim Calhoun. In 1987, Thibodeau befriended Bill Musselman, a former head coach in the NBA, ABA and NCAA who was coaching the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association. According to the New York Times, "the Patroons’ practices, the attention to detail, the efficiency, the sheer number of offensive sets, fed into Thibodeau's addiction."
Minnesota Timberwolves (1989–1991)
After four years at Harvard, he entered the National Basketball Association in 1989, as an assistant coach with an expansion team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had hired Bill Musselman as the team's first head coach. Prior to the 1991–92 season, he joined the Seattle SuperSonics as an advance scout.San Antonio Spurs (1992–1994)
Thibodeau moved to the San Antonio Spurs the following season, where he worked as an assistant coach to Jerry Tarkanian, Rex Hughes and John Lucas for two seasons.Philadelphia 76ers (1994–1996)
After the 1993–94 season, he left the Spurs along with Lucas to become an assistant under Lucas with the Philadelphia 76ers.New York Knicks (1996–2003)
After the 1995–96 season, he again left simultaneously with Lucas, this time joining the New York Knicks as an assistant to head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who later said that Thibodeau was the best coach on the staff, even better than Van Gundy.During his tenure with the Knicks, Thibodeau helped the team set a then-NBA record by holding 33 consecutive opponents under 100 points in the 2000–01 season. As part of the Knicks coaching staff, he also helped Van Gundy coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2000 All-Star Game. He spent seven years with the Knicks.
Houston Rockets (2003–2007)
Thibodeau joined the Houston Rockets prior to the 2003–04 season, where again he was an assistant to head coach Van Gundy, who has described Thibodeau as "brilliant".Boston Celtics (2007–2010)
On August 30, 2007, Thibodeau was named associate head coach of the Boston Celtics, who hoped his hiring would bolster their defense. Eventually, he helped the Celtics become the best defensive team in the league. On November 4, 2007, Thibodeau took over head coaching duties against the Toronto Raptors in place of Doc Rivers, who was unable to coach due to the death of his father earlier that day.During the 2008 playoffs, Thibodeau was rumored to be a candidate for the vacant head coaching job with the New York Knicks, for whom he had worked as an assistant coach for seven years, as well as the Chicago Bulls, but he was not hired by either.
Thibodeau led the Celtics to the best rating in several defensive categories in 2007–08, and was a key factor in containing Kobe Bryant during the 2008 Finals, which the Celtics won, earning Thibodeau his first NBA Championship.
Chicago Bulls (2010–2015)
On June 2, 2010, Thibodeau interviewed with officials from the Chicago Bulls for their vacant head coach position. On June 23, he was confirmed as the Bulls' head coach. Thibodeau was named the NBA Coach of the Year on May 1, 2011, after tying the record for most wins by a rookie head coach with 62. He also led the Bulls to their first 50-win season and first division title since the Michael Jordan era. The Bulls lost the Eastern Conference finals to the Miami Heat.On February 14, 2012, Thibodeau clinched the position of Eastern Conference coach for the All-Star Game in Orlando. At the time, the Bulls were first in the Eastern Conference.
With a win over the Orlando Magic on March 19, 2012, Thibodeau became the fastest coach in NBA history to earn 100 career victories. He accomplished this in 130 games, one game fewer than the record set previously by Avery Johnson in 2006. Thibodeau and the Bulls were the East's top seed entering the playoffs and also had the league's best regular-season record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
In Game 1 of the Bulls' first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, point guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL. Commenting on Thibodeau's decision to leave Rose in the game, Bulls general manager Gar Forman stated, "There is absolutely no issue there. It's a playoff game. They had cut a lead down to 12. We're going to have our guys on the floor making sure we win the game. Tom is a terrific coach who does a lot of things well. One of the best things he does is pace our team."
Thibodeau finished second to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs in 2012 NBA Coach of the Year voting. The Bulls' season was cut short after a 4–2 defeat by the 76ers.
File:20140814 World Basketball Festival Team USA assistant coaches.JPG|thumb|left to right: Jim Boeheim, Monty Williams, and Thibodeau served as assistant coaches for the 2014 United States FIBA World Cup team.
Rose missed the entire 2012–13 season, but despite his absence, the Bulls finished 45–37, second in the Central Division and 5th in their conference. They defeated the Brooklyn Nets 4–3 in the first round of the playoffs and lost to the Miami Heat 4–1 in the next round.
On May 13, 2013, Thibodeau was fined $35,000 for defending his players while commenting on the seemingly inadequate foul calls by the referees during the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat.
Thibodeau finished third in 2014 NBA Coach of the Year voting. He led the Bulls, without Rose for the second straight year, to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls' season ended with a 4–1 series loss to the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards.
Tension between the Bulls' front office and Thibodeau grew considerably over the 2014–15 season, which ended in a six-game series loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Shortly thereafter, on May 28, 2015, the Bulls decided to move in a different direction and let go of Thibodeau.
USA Basketball
Thibodeau was named on June 10, 2013, an assistant coach for the 2013–16 United States men's national basketball team. As a member of the 2014–16 USA Basketball Men's National Team coach staff, Thibodeau assisted the US to a sterling overall record of 26–0. The USA finished 9–0 to win the gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, while the 2014 USA National Team compiled a 4–0 record during its exhibition tour before the World Cup. Two years later, Thibodeau was again on the USA bench and helped lead the U.S. to the 2016 Olympic championship as the Americans rolled to an 8–0 record and the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Before heading to Rio, the 2016 USA National Team posted a 5–0 record during its domestic exhibition tour.Head coach Mike Krzyzewski heaped enormous praise on Thibodeau, who served as his right-hand man during the victories. "Tom is one of the great coaches on this planet," Krzyzewski said. "To be honest, he talked to the team more than I did," said Krzyzewski.