With 12 games to go in the season, the New York Knicks are 33-27, in sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and are on an eight-game winning streak.
Already a dream season for a team picked by most to lose 50 or more (even in a shortened 72-game season), and no matter how it ends, RJ Barrett believes Tom Thibodeau "better be in the running" for the Coach of the Year Award.
"He better be. We all believe in Thibs. He has been doing a tremendous job turning everything around, the way he has us playing hard every single night, and we're getting wins," Barrett said after Wednesday's OT win over Atlanta. "From him to the whole staff, night in and night out, every day working hard, just pushing and pushing. It's just a great feeling. The whole Knicks organization has just been great."
The Knicks were 21-45 in 2019-20, and even with more games this season, weren't thought to do much better if any. But, just as he did in Chicago and Minnesota, Thibodeau quickly turned a fading franchise around.
In his first head coaching gig, he took a Bulls team that had just had two straight .500 seasons and turned them into a 62-win team in 2010-11, going on to win 50 or more three times in five seasons with two division titles. He then moved to Minnesota, where a team that went 29-53 the year before his arrival won 47 games in his second season, and made their first playoff appearance in 14 seasons.
Thibodeau was Coach of the Year in that 2010-11 season, and Barrett isn't the only one who believes this Knicks turnaround should be his second.
"To be on a team like this where everybody is for each other, wants each other success, is having fun. The coaches are pushing for the players to do well. It's just a great environment, a winning environment that you love to be in," Immanuel Quickley said. "We just want to keep pushing, get better each and every day, and that's what we're striving to do."
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