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Tom Thibodeau coached the New York Knicks to their best season in a quarter-century.
It wasn't enough to keep his job. The Knicks replaced him this offseason with their new head coach, Mike Brown.
That means Thibs has some time on his hands, and he used it recently to pay a visit to the Boston Celtics on Monday.
The Knicks knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in the spring. And only months later, Thibodeau was there sharing with Boston how the Knicks had done it.
“I think that was awesome having Thibs,” Jaylen Brown told reporters, via Celtics Blog. “Obviously, they eliminated us last year. So him being able to give us some of the thoughts that he saw in that series, and some of the stuff that they broke down in our personnel or even our team, helps us grow and learn from that. We lost last year. It stung losing to the Knicks. So to have Thibs here at our practice and explaining some of the things that he saw that helped them beat us only helps me get better, only helps us get better. So I value that. Shoutout to Thibs for being here today.”
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Thibodeau was the associate head coach under Doc Rivers when the Celtics won the 2008 NBA champoinship.
At heart, Thibs is a coach. He's made lots of stops on his journey.
This was a chance to connect with an organization he won a ring with and to help further basketball improvements, no matter who eliminated who mere months ago.
“He was breaking down some film and stuff like that, talking to Joe from a team perspective and from a top-down perspective; what he wanted to do with me and Jayson (Tatum) or what he wanted to do with the ball in my hands,” Brown said. “It allows you to grow. If you’re humble enough to listen, it’ll allow you to grow. … This was a unique position where a guy could come in — directly after (eliminating you) — and give us some feedback on how we can be better, how I can be better. So I value that. That was great.”
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Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla felt great about the visit, too.
”He’s been one of the best coaches around for a long time,” Mazzulla said. “(He) worked here, won a championship here, and just having him around makes me better, makes our organization better. So it’s a lot of respect for him.”
The Knicks and Celtics both open the season Wednesday night. New York plays Cleveland, while Boston plays Philadelphia. The Eastern Conference race will get underway right away, and it'll be Brown on the Knicks' sideline, not Thibodeau.
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