Knicks Star Praises Tom Thibodeau's Growth

One New York Knicks star certainly sees a difference in Tom Thibodeau the second time around.

Nov 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

It turns out that the New York Knicks can teach an old Wolf new tricks.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau has his pack back together with the NBA All-Star break having come and gone. True to his seemingly eternal stoic nature, Thibodeau said that he spent the metropolitan hiatus is his office at the Knicks' practice facility in Tarrytown.

“It was perfect. Club Tarrytown," Thibodeau joked as the Knicks reconvened after the break, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. "Seventy-two [degrees] and sunny every day.”

Though Thibodeau is sticking to his guns of routine, one of his All-Stars documented the ways he has changed in new a locale.

“Time has treated us all differently. For Thibs, I feel like he’s at a point where he’s just having fun. He’s really having fun with this," center Karl-Anthony Towns said, per Botte. "I know that from being a player and a friend of his, [he's] just enjoying the process of being a coach."

"I think it’s a testament to growth for him, and time and a testament to players in this locker room and the coaching staff he has around him that allow him to appreciate the little things even more and life more.” 

When the Knicks traded for Towns in the late stages of the offseason, some wondered if a reunion with Thibodeau was the best idea considering the way things ended on a sour note during their shared endeavors in Minneapolis. This time around, however, the two have raised the Knicks to a new level of contention and Towns is averaging a double-double for the first time since 2020-21, which includes a career-best 13.4 boards per game.

Thibodeau and the Knicks (36-18) were certainly having fun before All-Star Weekend interrupted: New York all but two of its last 11 games before the stoppage and firmly established itself among the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. There's a chance for Thibodeau, Towns, and friends to immediately establish some championship mettle in the second half of the season.

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