NEW YORK, NY — As they were just two wins away from making the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks had an excellent 2024-2025 season, winning 51 regular season games, finishing as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, and appearing in the organization’s first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000.
Three days after they were beaten in the 2025 ECF by the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knickerbockers fired head coach Tom Thibodeau even though he was by far their most successful head coach in 25 years. Despite that reality, there were rumblings he could be dismissed as soon as Game 6 ended in Indianapolis.
The odds are the public will never know what really transpired behind the scenes between team owner James Dolan, Knicks president Leon Rose, and Tom Thibodeau. They may have believed Thibodeau had taken the Knicks as far as they would go under his watch.
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It is understandable to feel the Knicks blew their best chance at an NBA title anytime soon. Their key NBA East rival, The Boston Celtics, will be healthy which was not the case in 2025. The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic are rapidly improving. The Cleveland Cavaliers cannot be counted out. And let’s not forget those perennial tormentors, the Pacers.
Unlike Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who used his entire roster during the playoffs to keep everyone fresh or to spell a player who may be having an off-night, Thibodeau stayed with his core seven players for most of the minutes of the series.
Even worse, the Knicks two big stars, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, played better when only one of them was on the court. They were logging minus minutes (the opposition was outscoring them) when they were on the floor simultaneously. Thibodeau refused to adjust to that reality until it was too late. Place the blame on Towns’ defensive shortcomings.
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Few things were as depressing as watching Thibodeau’s postgame press conferences. It did not matter whether the Knicks had won or lost the game in question, he never smiled and always came off as morose. Funeral directors got depressed watching Thibs on television.
It should also be noted that both Brunson and Towns were rarely seen smiling during the past year. Frankly, they always appeared downright sullen. You must wonder if they, or some of their teammates, privately complained to Rose and Dolan about Thibodeau.
This is an all-too-common story in the NBA. Brooklyn Nets fans will remember how Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden spoke negatively to Nets general manager Sean Marks about then-head coach Kenny Atkinson. Marks, and Nets owner Joe Tsai, were clearly intimidated and agreed to dismiss Atkinson.
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It did not take long for Kenny to get his revenge as he won a championship ring as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. He then moved onto the Cleveland Cavaliers where he was named NBA Head Coach of the Year. And the Nets still have not recovered.
Final NBA game on TNT as League partners with NBC and Prime Video
The Knicks’ swan song in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals also marked the last NBA game TNT would televise for the foreseeable since they lost the rights to NBC and Prime Video under the upcoming NBA television rights deal which kicks in this fall. The Yankees were getting thumped by the Dodgers on FOX Sports at the time. As soon as that rout ended, Fox baseball lead voice Joe Davis urged viewers to switch to TNT as he paid tribute to Kevin Harlan, Ernie Johnson, and other TNT NBA broadcasters. It was a classy move on Davis’s part although I have a feeling FOX executives were not happy with him.
Mets Alumni Day at Citi Field on Saturday, September 13th
For those who have been wondering if the Mets would follow up their terrific 2022 Old Timers’ Day, the answer is yes. It is now being rebranded as an “alumni classic game involving Mets legends.”
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On Saturday, September 13, before their game with the Texas Rangers, Mets who played at Shea Stadium will take on those who played for the Amazin’s at Citi Field. José Reyes, who played in both Mets’ Queens homes, will be part of the Shea Stadium team.
Pride Night in Queens this Friday, June 13th
This Friday night, the Mets will be hosting their annual Pride Night. The first 15,000 fans will receive a tank top with the Mets “NY” logo in the various LGBTQ rainbow colors.
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Given the current national politics, the Mets deserve credit for not abandoning it.
Annual Sports Media Awards at City Winery at Chelsea Piers
The digital entertainment trade publication, Cynopsis, held their annual Sports Media Awards last Wednesday at City Winery at Chelsea Piers. SNY anchor/reporter Chelsea Sherrod handled most of the emcee duties.
The Mets won the award for best collaboration between a sports team and a major brand (McDonald’s). The New York Jets, who rarely win anything, were honored for expanding their brand into the United Kingdom.
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The Professional Bull Riders, whose communications director is Little Neck native Andrew Giangola, were named League of the Year by Cynopsis. Bull riding has long been an individual sport, but PGR successfully started city team competitions last year. The New York Mavericks competed in 2024 at Barclays Center. The Mavericks will be trying to manage wild bulls at UBS Arena at Belmont Park September 18-20.
Caribbean Week held by Caribbean Tourism Organization
The Caribbean Tourism Organization always holds Caribbean Week in the first week of June in New York. Jamaica (no, not the Queens neighborhood). It has become a hotbed for track & field and polo and easy to find inexpensive tickets to watch competitions in either sport in Kingston. Although Bermuda is not technically part of the Caribbean, they had a table at the CTO’s annual media confab. The PGA Tour recently started a tournament at the island nation’s most prestigious golf course, Port Royal. The Butterfield Bermuda Championship will take place November 13-16.
Tribeca Film Festival from Wednesday, June 4th-Sunday, June 15th
The Tribeca Film Festival runs through this Sunday. A major disappointment about this year’s TFF is the absence of sports documentaries being presented. Granted, ESPN is no longer a Tribeca sponsor, and they have cut back on their “30 for 30″ documentary series, but there is no shortage of sports documentaries being made by streamers as Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV Plus as well as by FOX and other TV networks.
Image Credit: Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival employs people whose jobs are to fill its slate with documentaries. As per custom, they did a superb job when it came to politics, entertainment, business, and so many other areas, but the lack of sports docs is galling.
Cannabis Means Business event at the Javits Center
The cannabis industry held its annual big trade show, Cannabis Means Business, at Javits Center last week. While there were many exhibitors in the categories of agriculture, packaging, distribution, legal and accounting, there were none displaying cannabidiol (CBD) products which have reputed health benefits such as reducing inflammation.
DAZN planning to show FIFA Club World Cup games for Free!
While most of us know the USA will be hosting the World Cup in 2026, what is not as well known is that the international federation, FIFA, is holding its Club World Cup, which has professional teams from across the globe competing for the prized trophy.
Image Credit: DAZN
DAZN, the streaming service, which is best known for boxing, will be showing the matches free of any subscription charges. TNT will be doing the same on cable.
Kathy Hochul’s guest appearance on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest last week on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” He asked her about how the strained relations between our country and Canada are affecting border cities such as Buffalo. “The Toronto Blue Jays’ top minor league team, the Buffalo Bisons, have lost one-third of their attendance because fans are not coming from Ontario.” She added she feared the same thing could happen to the Buffalo Bills when the NFL season starts up again.
You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.
