The Knicks haven’t played a minute of basketball since their playoff exit but they’ve still managed to dominate the conversation during the NBA Finals and not in a good way.
Just before Game 3 tipped off, Charles Barkley didn’t hold back on NBA TV, lighting up the Knicks for their directionless head coaching search after firing Tom Thibodeau.
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world,” Barkley said. “You don’t fire no good coach like that and don’t have a plan. Thibs did a hell of a job. Obviously something’s going on there. You don’t have a plan? Now three coaches turn you down. You got to have a plan, man. They don’t have a plan. Now, I mean, I don’t know what the hell they’re going to do.”
“The Knicks gotta be the stupidest damn people in the world.”
— Charles Barkley. 💰£
(h/t @ClutchPoints)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 12, 2025
And as if to prove Barkley’s point in real time, news broke mid-broadcast that the Bulls had joined the growing list of teams, including Dallas, Minnesota, Houston, and Atlanta, to deny New York permission to interview their head coach.
Since dismissing Thibodeau just days after the Knicks’ best season in two decades, New York has looked lost.
Thibs led the team to back-to-back 50-win campaigns, an Eastern Conference Finals berth, and revived basketball at MSG. His firing, without a clear successor in place, has left fans scratching their heads, and Barkley boiling over.
The coaching carousel always turns. But when you fire your best bet and go spinning without a strategy, someone like Chuck is going to call it like he sees it.
And as far as he’s concerned, “They don’t have a damn clue.”
