Brian Daboll's success doesn't surprise Tom Thibodeau
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau looks on before an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
DETROIT — When Tom Thibodeau arrived in New York for the 2020-21 season, he came with a solid background but inherited a team with low expectations. Then he pushed and prodded the Knicks to a No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in his first season. So he isn’t surprised to see the success that Brian Daboll has had in leading the Giants to the playoffs in his first season.
“It was just like, hey, let's build our foundation and let's work and do it day by day,'' Thibodeau said Sunday morning. "And obviously, being with the Patriots and then the Bills, I think his foundation is terrific.”
Like Thibodeau, who learned under Jeff Van Gundy and Doc Rivers before becoming a head coach, Daboll is on his first head-coaching assignment but was an assistant in winning organizations in the NFL and at Alabama. And Thibodeau, who has crossed paths with Daboll only once, at a Rangers game, believes that is what makes his success not a surprise.
“Terrific. I don’t know a whole lot other than I like to watch [NFL] games,” Thibodeau said. “I think he’s done a great job, fantastic.
“He’s well-prepared. I always like to look at the background of guys and people he’s been around. I think you’re really a byproduct of all those experiences and people that you’re around, and he’s been around the best in the game. He’s had a terrific career. Some people may be surprised. I’m not surprised.”
Thibodeau earned NBA Coach of the Year honors in his first season as a head coach and then again in his first season in New York. Daboll is one of the frontrunners for the award this year.
Raise the roster?
With Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson in a fight for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Stars, Thibodeau said he would like to see the rosters expanded from 12 to 15 players.
“I would. Like, I wish the coaches didn’t even have to vote,” he said. “I’d like them to be out of it. You know it's an impossible situation. You're trying to reward people that are having great seasons, and there's just not enough spots, and there's worthy candidates. Usually when it comes down to the last two or three guys, you can make a case for usually like six guys, and then you try to say, OK, whose team is winning more? Usually that's the tiebreaker.
“And it's unfortunate because some guys do get left out. But then you also can factor in there'll be some guys that get nicked up and there'll be some replacements. So hopefully everyone who's having a great year does get in. But inevitably every year someone's being left out who's deserving and you hate to see that. But that's the reality of it.
"And the thought of 15 is good when selecting, but then the people that are coaching in it, then that's the other dilemma. How do you get 15 into a game? And then you try not to get anyone upset, either. And I love the game. The game is really for the fans. So I wish they would just let the fans pick them all or let the players pick them. But it's great. It's a great event for the weekend, and to celebrate games and stuff. But you do hate to see anyone being left off.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
