Calling Thibs; Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau Tom Thibodeau was named January’s Coach of the Month after leading the New York Knicks to 14 victories despite facing possible challenges.
On Thursday, the NBA announced that Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the New York Knicks, has been awarded Eastern Conference Coach for his work in January. Thibodeau wins the award for the seventh time in his NBA career, and his second with the Knicks, having previously won in May 2021.
Thibodeau has dealt with the loss of three regular contributors from his opening night lineup in the last month: RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley were traded to Toronto on the penultimate day of the previous calendar year, and Julius Randle suffered a dislocated shoulder that will keep him out for weeks during Saturday’s win over the Miami Heat.
To that end, Thibodeau had to introduce multiple newcomers to his generally ironclad rotation, whether they were international acquisitions (Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby) or bench players (Miles McBride). His Knicks responded with their most successful 30-plus-day run in years.
The Knicks finished the month of January with a 14-2 record, their best since March 1994, after sweeping a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday. Wins in each of their final eight games have resulted in the NBA’s longest current streak, which ties for the second-longest of the season.
The January haul included wins over Western Conference leaders Minnesota and Denver, with the Knicks defeating the reigning champions 122-84 on Jan. 25. Thibodeau also joined an exclusive company of NBA coaches on January 13, becoming the 36th to win at least 500 games in his career.
Other notable victories were the aforementioned victory against Miami (who eliminated Thibodeau’s Knicks from last spring’s NBA playoffs) and another blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers, who were passed by the Knicks for third position in the current postseason bracket. The Knicks are only one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks, who said goodbye to their own head coach Adrian Griffin last week, in second place heading into Thursday night action.
Tyronn Lue’s Los Angeles Clippers finished 12-3 in January, earning the Western Conference equivalent of Thibodeau’s new title. Lue is the first Western boss to win the accolade on consecutive occasions since Quinn Snyder in January/February 2021.
Thibodeau and the Knicks (31-17) will seek to start February on a strong note on Thursday night when they visit the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET).
