The Knicks‘ surprising firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau has sparked a lot of debate in the NBA world — including who should coach the team next.
Perhaps the most interesting of those candidates is Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd who once played for the Knicks, took Dallas to the Finals last season and could be a piece that helps land Giannis Antetokounmpo at Madison Square Garden (more on that later).
However, ESPN “First Take” personality and resident Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith would be remiss if he didn’t mention another name that seems to always come up in these conversations: Mark Jackson.
Jackson, another former Knick who was born and bred in Brooklyn and attended St. John’s, led the Golden State Warriors to two playoff appearances in three years but was ultimately replaced by Steve Kerr and hasn’t coached since.
“I’m gonna always mention the name Mark Jackson because he’s been away from the game for a decade as a coach,” Smith said Monday. “This man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that and ascended to four championships. … He knows and feels and vibes with New York. He’s a native.”
“I’m gonna always mention the name Mark Jackson…this man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that.” – Stephen A. Smith on Knicks coaching search pic.twitter.com/XMo6306z77
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2025
10 years later, its still a bit of a mystery why Jackson hasn’t gotten another opportunity elsewhere. But he parlayed that into an iconic broadcast career alongside Mike Breen and ex-coach Jeff Van Gundy in the time since.
Some feel the job Jackson did with the Warriors has been a bit overrated since his firing and that he was actually the one holding them back from NBA Finals contention.
But it’s important to remember that they missed the playoffs in 16 of the prior 17 seasons before his arrival with the lone exception of the “We Believe” year.
With all that said, it very much could be the case that Kidd is at the top of the Knicks’ wishlist. Especially when you consider that Giannis was prepared to get the Hall of Fame PG his job back when he was let go of by the Bucks midseason in 2018.