The New York Knicks on Tuesday made a stunning move and fired Tom Thibodeau despite all the success he had as their head coach. Thibodeau had coached the Knicks for five seasons and led them to consecutive 50-win seasons. He also had just led them to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000. The team still fired him despite all the success, and that may be because they have some replacements in mind whom they view as upgrades.
BetOnline.ag has listed odds for whom the Knicks will hire as their next head coach. There are two clear favorites for the job based on the odds.
Former Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone has even odds at 1/1 of being the next Knicks head coach.
Former Villanova Wildcats head coach Jay Wright has 3/2 odds of being the next Knicks coach.
Based on what BetOnline.ag has listed, it’s a two-way race between Malone and Wright for the Knicks job.
There is a big dropoff after that. Only four other coaches have odds under 10/1:
Jeff Van Gundy – 6/1
Chris Quinn – 7/1
Taylor Jenkins – 8/1
Danny Hurley – 9/1
Malone, 53, was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets from 2015-2025. He was fired with three games remaining in the regular season this year. He had led Denver to the playoffs six straight years, and the team won the NBA championship under him in 2023. Malone also worked in the Knicks’ organization from 2001-2005 and was linked to the job immediately after Thibodeau was fired.
Wright also has ties to the Knicks. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart all played for Wright at Villanova. The team won the national championship in 2016 and 2018, though Hart was already in the NBA for the second championship.
The Knicks would not have fired Thibodeau if they didn’t have a plan in mind. We will likely soon find out what that plan is.
