Knicks' Tom Thibodeau Dismissal Among Most Shocking Firings

It's been less than a week since the New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau, shocking the entire league.

Thibodeau led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, but it wasn't enough for him to keep his job after five successful seasons at the helm.

Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey named the decision to fire Thibodeau one of the 10 most shocking firings in the last decade.

"There were certainly some viable reasons for the Knicks moving on, but the contrast between the pre-Thibs era and this one still makes the move surprising," Bailey wrote.

"New York was a borderline laughingstock for most of nearly two decades. Under Thibodeau, the Knicks were at least a near-lock for the playoffs. And things were clearly trending up.

"Basketball culture may just be too hard to overcome, though," he continued.

"Reporting for SportsCenter, Charania said only that the Knicks wanted a 'new voice' when trying to explain this move...And as unsatisfying an explanation as that may be, it's also probably the closest to the truth."

Most NBA coaches usually get about 4-5 years to get a team from zero to hero, and Thibodeau only needed one year to go from a lottery to postseason squad. His efforts in his first season earned him Coach of the Year honors, and it also shaped his expectations moving forward.

Once the Knicks signed Jalen Brunson in free agency, those expectations only magnified.

The Knicks feel as though they should have been in the NBA Finals this season, and they are choosing to make Thibodeau the fall guy for that.

Blaming Thibodeau is fine, as long as there is accountability all across the board. The team needs to make sure his successor is able to do what he could not, otherwise it was a waste of a move.

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