New York Knicks: Gregg Popovich says exactly what we needed to hear about Tom Thibodeau

The New York Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau last week to lead the franchise as their next head coach.

Thibodeau has a fantastic history in basketball, coaching the Chicago Bulls from 2010 to 2016 when he moved no to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, while in Chicago, he ranked no worse than second in the Central division. While his team never won a championship, he made it to the conference finals once and the semi-finals twice.

His time in Minnesota wasn’t as successful, as he earned a playoff appearance once in his first two seasons. He was fired last year, finishing with a .475 win percentage over 40 games. Historically, he has a fantastic track record and has a career winning percentage over .500.

The New York Knicks hired a coach with amazing comparisons:

He has been compared to legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick. Tom is known for his attention to detail and organization. His mannerisms mimic Belichick’s closely, which is a great thing.

Another legendary coach, Gregg Popovich, had only good things to say about Thibodeau joining the Knicks.

“Tommy’s a seasoned veteran who it goes without saying understands what wins what loses,” Popovich said Saturday on a Zoom call when asked by The Post about Thibodeau’s Knicks hiring. “He knows how to put a program together, create a culture, be demanding. At the same time, make people accountable. It’s easy to demand things, but making people accountable and wanting to play the right way is not something that’s easy for everybody to do. But Tom knows it inside and out.”

“He’ll be a great choice to organize the situation there, develop a plan, start a culture stick to it and be persistent and get after it,” Popovich said. “It’s a great choice.”

The Knicks got a good one with Thibodeau, and I would be surprised if he didn’t run the offense through RJ Barrett, their best young player. With another high draft pick upcoming, the team could look a little bit different next year. New general manager Leon Rose is also looking to expand on his connections and draw interest from some of the league stars.