DETROIT — The New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday. His surprise jettison came after he led the Knicks to their most successful season in 25 years.

New York advanced to the Eastern Conference finals following a 51-31 regular season. The Knicks' season ended in a six-game series against the Indiana Pacers, who will represent the Eastern Conference during the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thibodeau's departure from New York marked the fifth coaching firing of the season. However, he joins Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings), Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets) and Taylor Jenkins (Memphis Grizzlies) as the fourth unanticipated firing that continues to highlight the harsh reality of being an NBA coach.

"It is not an easy job," Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on ESPN's First Take Wednesday morning. "Every year, we sit down with our front office, and we lay out a plan on what a successful season looks like. ... We have to do more. We have to overachieve in order to progress and move forward."

Bickerstaff is no stranger to unexpected firings. The Cleveland Cavaliers let him go in May 2024 after he led the franchise to its most successful era without LeBron James, who departed in 2018.

Bickerstaff spent five years in Cleveland and led the Cavaliers to 44 or more wins in his final three seasons. In his final year at the helm, the Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals after a 48-34 campaign. Their season ended in a 4-1 series defeat to the Boston Celtics.

Two months later, the Pistons hired Bickerstaff, who led the charge in the franchise's revival. They tripled their win total from the previous season with a 44-38 record and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Bickerstaff finished second in Coach of the Year voting behind the Cavaliers' Kenny Atkinson.

"I am happy where I am," Bickerstaff said. "For us as coaches, we are trying to figure out, 'What is my job? What are the expectations? And how do I continue to move those expectations forward?' The best organization in this league is the team that is the most consistent.

"When things get rocky, they hunker down on the things they believe in, the people they believe in and the players they believe in. ... I am truly blessed to be where I am with Trajan Langdon and Tom Gores. They are the type of people who, when things get tough, have my back and have shown that."

Thibodeau ends his five-year coaching tenure with the Knicks ranked fourth all time in wins (226) and sixth in winning percentage (56.5%). Before their elimination by the Pacers, New York defeated the Pistons and Celtics in six games in both series.

"Outside looking in, you make it to the Eastern Conference finals, that is a successful job Thibodeau has done," Bickerstaff said. "I can't speak enough about the respect he has in coaching circles about the job he is able to do. You know you are in a dogfight every time you face a Thibodeau-led team, and I think he did that with the Knicks."

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