Tom Thibodeau
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| Thibodeau as head coach of the Chicago Bulls | |
| Head coach | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 17, 1958 |
| Place of birth | New Britain, Connecticut |
| Career information | |
| College | Salem State University |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1989–1991 | Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant) |
| 1992–1994 | San Antonio Spurs (assistant) |
| 1994–1996 | Philadelphia 76ers (assistant) |
| 1996–2003 | New York Knicks (assistant) |
| 2003–2007 | Houston Rockets (assistant) |
| 2007–2010 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 2010–present | Chicago Bulls |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Tom Thibodeau (born January 17, 1958) is an American basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. He previously served as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.
As a defensive coach, he helped the Houston Rockets rank among the Top 5 in the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense from 2004 to 2007,[1] and has helped his team finish in the league's Top 10 in team defense 15 times.[2] He coached in 87 playoff games and was part of the 1999 NBA Finals as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks prior to joining the Celtics, with whom he won the 2008 NBA Championship. In 2011 he was named the NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Bulls to a 62 win season.
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[edit] College
Thibodeau played basketball at Salem State University, and became an assistant coach at the school in 1981. In 1984, he became head coach at Salem State after serving three years as an assistant. One season later he became an assistant coach at Harvard University, where he spent the next four seasons.
[edit] NBA
After four years at Harvard University, he entered the NBA as an assistant coach with an expansion team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, under head coach Bill Musselman in 1989. Prior to the 1991–92 season, he joined the Seattle SuperSonics as an advance scout.
Thibodeau moved to the San Antonio Spurs the following season, where he worked as an assistant coach to Jerry Tarkanian, Rex Hughes and John Lucas for two seasons. After the 1993–94 season, he left the Spurs along with Lucas to become an assistant under Lucas with the Philadelphia 76ers. After the 1995–96 season, he again left simultaneously with Lucas, this time joining the New York Knicks as an assistant to head coach Jeff Van Gundy.
During his tenure with the Knicks, he helped the team set a then-NBA record by holding 33 consecutive opponents under 100 points in the 2000–01 season. As part of the Knicks coaching staff, he also helped Jeff Van Gundy to coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game. He spent seven years with the Knicks before joining the Houston Rockets prior to the 2003–04 season, where again he was an assistant to head coach Van Gundy.
[edit] Boston Celtics
On August 30, 2007, Thibodeau was named associate head coach of the Boston Celtics,[3][4][5] who hoped to bolster their defense with his hiring.[6] Eventually, he helped the Celtics become the best defensive team in the league with his expertise.[7] On November 4, 2007, Thibodeau took over head coaching duties against the Toronto Raptors in place of Doc Rivers, who was unable to coach due to the death of his father earlier that day.[8]
During the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Thibodeau had been rumored as a candidate for the vacant head coaching job with the New York Knicks, whom he worked for as an assistant coach for seven years, as well as the Chicago Bulls.[9][10] However, he wasn't hired as the head coach of either franchise.
Thibodeau led the Celtics to the best rating in several defensive categories in 2007–08,[2] and was a key factor in containing Kobe Bryant during the 2008 NBA Finals.[11]
[edit] Chicago Bulls
On June 2, 2010, the eve of the 2010 NBA Finals, Thibodeau interviewed with officials from the Chicago Bulls for their vacant head coach position.[12] On June 23, 2010, he was confirmed as the Bulls' head coach. Thibodeau was named the NBA Coach of the Year on May 1, 2011, after tying the record for most wins by a rookie head coach with 62. He also led the Bulls to their first division title since the Michael Jordan era.[13]
On February 14, 2012, Tom Thibodeau clinched the position of Eastern Conference All-Star Coach for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. At the time, the Bulls were first in the Eastern Conference.
[edit] Coaching record
| Legend | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win-loss % | |
| Post season | PG | Playoff Games | PW | Playoff Wins | PL | Playoff Losses | PW–L % | Playoff Win-loss % | |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHI | 2010–11 | 82 | 62 | 20 | .756 | 1st in Central | 16 | 9 | 7 | .563 | Lost in Conf. Finals |
| Career | 82 | 62 | 20 | .756 | 16 | 9 | 7 | .563 |
[edit] Personal
A native of New Britain, Connecticut, Thibodeau graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science in counseling from Salem State University. In 1998, he was inducted into the New Britain Sports Hall of Fame.
Thibodeau is currently single and has never been married.[14]
[edit] References
- ^ Tom Thibodeau – Associate Head Coach, Celtics.com
- ^ a b Christopher L. Gasper, It all stops with mastermind Thibodeau, The Boston Globe, June 4, 2008.
- ^ Celtics Add Thibodeau to Coaching Staff, Celtics.com, August 30, 2007.
- ^ New England native Thibodeau named Celtics assistant, Associated Press, August 30, 2007.
- ^ Celtics add coach, The Boston Globe, August 30, 2007.
- ^ Peter May, Thibodeau is Celtics' minister of defense, The Boston Globe, November 1, 2007.
- ^ Mark Murphy, Celtics regular season report card, Boston Herald, April 19, 2008.
- ^ Allen's last-second 3 caps milestone day as C's nip Raps, Associated Press, November 4, 2007.
- ^ Alan Hahn, Knicks interested in Celtics assistant coach, Boston Herald, April 23, 2008.
- ^ Thibodeau on radar – Assistant may be in line for top job, Boston Herald, April 24, 2008.
- ^ Frank Isola, Boston's Tom Thibodeau helps stymie Kobe Bryant, Lakers, New York Daily News, June 7, 2008.
- ^ K.C. Johnson, Bulls heading home after Thibodeau interview, Chicago Tribune, June 3, 2010.
- ^ "Thibodeau named 18th head coach in franchise history". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. June 23, 2010. http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/thibodeau_hired_100623.html. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ Greenstein, Teddy. [1], ChicagoTribune.com, May 14, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
[edit] External links
- Tom Thibodeau Coaching Info at NBA.com
- Tom Thibodeau Interview – ESPN TrueHoop
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by Vinny Del Negro |
Chicago Bulls head coach 2010–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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- 1958 births
- Living people
- American basketball coaches
- Boston Celtics assistant coaches
- Chicago Bulls head coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Harvard Crimson men's basketball coaches
- Houston Rockets assistant coaches
- Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches
- National Basketball Association head coaches
- New York Knicks assistant coaches
- People from New Britain, Connecticut
- Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches
- Salem State University alumni
- San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches
