Tom Thibodeau’s firing was so divisive that it came up during Wednesday’s NYC Democratic mayoral debate.
Yes, really.
They asked candidates in the NYC Democratic Mayoral Debate how they feel about the Knicks firing Tom Thibodeau.Michael Blake was the only candidate with a thumbs up. pic.twitter.com/yUuNQM0Ab2
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) June 5, 2025
The debate hosted by NBC 4 included a question for nine of the candidates competing in June’s primary about their reaction to Tuesday’s dismissal of Thibodeau after five seasons at the helm.
From left to right, the candidates all gave thumbs down that they disapproved of the decision — including the front runners in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — until Michael Blake gave an emphatic thumbs up.
The candidate then explained that the firing made sense, given that the league is a results-oriented one.
“Our goal is to win the Finals, not to get to the conference finals,” Blake said.
It was not clear how Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller, voted during the prompt.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks’ stunning firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau
- Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau after playoff ouster in stunning shakeup
- Intriguing names top early list of potential Knicks candidates to replace Tom Thibodeau
- Vaccaro: Knicks better have their Joe Torre
- Jay Wright’s chances of being Knicks coach revealed
Thibodeau’s ouster shocked plenty of people throughout the game of basketball, including Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who got the best of the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals in six games.
Carlisle said that when he first heard the news, he thought it was completely fabricated.
“Thibs went in and changed so much. You look at all that and what happened yesterday, I thought [the news] was one of those fake AI things,” Carlisle said. “No way. No way possible. I know how the players feel about him, too.”
Thibodeau’s five-year tenure included a 226-174 record during the regular season and four trips to the postseason, but the last two ended at the hands of the Pacers.
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania said Tuesday the consensus around the league was that people were “stunned,” given Thibodeau’s positive track record.
“My phone is blowing up right now with executives, everyone around the league [is] just stunned,” Charania said during an appearance on “SportsCenter.”
Now, the Knicks are on the hunt for a new coach, and the team will likely prioritize experience, The Post’s Stefan Bondy reported.
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