Tom Thibodeau has worked with plenty of players and coaches throughout a long NBA career that has brought him to seven teams.
But few know him closer — and have known him for longer — than Jalen Brunson.
And few are bigger supporters of Thibodeau than the Knicks star.
So with outside noise growing louder about Thibodeau potentially coaching for his job in the playoffs, Brunson strongly backed his coach.
“He means a lot,” Brunson said after practice on Friday. “Individually, he’s meant a lot to my career. He’s meant a decent amount to [Karl-Anthony Towns], coaching KAT in Minnesota and here. There’s a lot of players who can say they’ve definitely benefited from Tom Thibodeau in his career.
“But I think as a team, we’re always in a position where we can compete in the postseason, since I’ve been here. He’s very prepared, he’s a very prepared individual. He’s done a lot for my career, so I’m always going to be a supporter. Always. Even when he annoys me, always.”
Thibodeau, in his fifth season as the Knicks’ head coach, has yet to lead them past the second round of the playoffs.
He helped turn around a perennially bottom-feeding franchise, but there will be an increasingly vocal portion of the fanbase that will call for him to be fired or want him on the hot seat if the Knicks underperform this postseason.
“I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff,” Thibodeau said on Friday. “I just worry about the series. That’s all I worry about.”
Brunson’s father, Rick, who is currently a Knicks assistant, and Thibodeau share a long history together.
Thibodeau served as an assistant coach with the Knicks from 1996-2003, and Rick Brunson played two-plus seasons for the team from 1998-2000.
Brunson was born two years prior in 1996 and spent ample time around the team as a child.
Later, Rick Brunson served as an assistant on Thibodeau’s staff with both the Bulls and Timberwolves before reuniting with the Knicks.
Thibodeau has quite literally seen Brunson grow up.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. I’m a big Thibs supporter,” Brunson said. “That’s just who I am, that’s just what I’ll be.”
A common complaint about Thibodeau is that he’s stuck in his ways and hesitant to change, particularly in his approach to workloads and on-court philosophy.
But Brunson has a different perspective.
“I’ve seen him evolve a lot,” Brunson said. “I vaguely remember him when I was younger, seeing him coach and then seeing him at Minnesota and then seeing him now, I think he’s evolved a lot. Having in-depth conversations with him, obviously about basketball but also non-basketball stuff, the way we can connect, helps us on the court. It’s been fun.
“It’s just the way he’s been able to push me and make sure I’m not satisfied. I could go on and on about that. Our relationship has evolved — we’re more direct, we talk to each other, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”