The Knicks’ consistent struggles over the past two decades has been widely laid at the feet of owner James Dolan, but Mike Woodson thinks that direct blame is unfair.
The former Knicks head coach, who then returned to be an assistant coach as part of Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff, spoke with reporters at his introductory press conference as the new head coach at Indiana University, and took time to thank Dolan, who he believes is misunderstood by many who focus only on the negatives that have swirled around Madison Square Garden in recent years.
“Jim Dolan gets a bad rap in New York,” Woodson said. “But he was a great owner for me. He allowed me to head coach and he allowed me to come back and be an assistant. I have him to thank.”
Woodson oversaw the Knicks’ most successful season in recent memory, when the team won 54 games in 2012-13 and reach the second round of the playoffs. As an assistant this season, he helped Thibodeau get the Knicks into solid playoff positioning, an outcome that is considered one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season.
Discourse around the Knicks regarding Dolan continues, even in a resurgent season, with a fan being kicked out of the Garden last week for wearing a “Ban Dolan” shirt, but Woodson doesn’t agree with the reputation the owner has in the minds of much of the fanbase, which has been starving for a championship contender since 1999.
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