The New York Knicks initiated a pretty significant reunion by completing the trade for All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, as he is now back with head coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibodeau coached Towns’ Minnesota Timberwolves for two-and-a-half seasons from 2016-19.
Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns says playing for Tom Thibodeau gives him a ‘head start’
Towns spoke to the media for the first time since the trade Thursday, and he acknowledged that playing under his once-former head coach gives him a “head start” in acclimating himself to New York.
“I think it gives us a little bit of a head start,” Towns said (h/t SNY). “I know the offense he runs, I know the way he likes to play defense, and I know what he expects from his players.”
Towns spent a large part of the early stages of his career playing for Thibodeau. The 2016-17 season, the big man’s second NBA season and first under Thibodeau, is still one of the best seasons of his career, as he averaged 25.1 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 54% from the floor and 37% from three.
Unfortunately, the time they spent together in Minnesota didn’t come with a lot of team success. They made the playoffs one time, which was during the 2017-18 season, but were eliminated in the first round. The following season would see the team get broken apart, as superstar teammate Jimmy Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers early in the season and Thibodeau was fired as head coach after a 19-21 record halfway through.
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The Knicks have high expectations with the new roster this season
This time around, the expectations are much different. The Knicks have a fantastic-looking team led by an MVP candidate in Jalen Brunson, and Thibodeau has been the perfect fit to coach this specific group. In the four seasons he has coached New York, he has helped lead them to the playoffs three times and has won a playoff series in each of the last two seasons, the first time in his head coaching career that his team won a playoff series in consecutive seasons.
Adding a guy who knows his system well in Towns should only make the team better this upcoming season. The Knicks went all-in this summer to become title contenders, bringing in Towns and star wing Mikal Bridges. It will likely take some time for the new players to settle into a new system and gel together, but the transition from Minnesota to New York should be fairly seamless for Towns thanks to being around a familiar face.
