Kenny Atkinson Plans to Ask Tom Thibodeau for Feedback After Cavaliers Practice Visit

Tom Thibodeau has visited the Cleveland Cavaliers at practice, and coach Kenny Atkinson said Tuesday that he will ask the former Knicks coach for feedback.

Atkinson said coaches compete but are close colleagues who share with one another away from games.

"We're like a continuous learning organization," Atkinson said. "Who can we learn from? It's great about the coaches, like our coaches association. Like, we compete, but we're really close colleagues that we can share. When we're not competing, we're a pretty tight-knit group."

"So it's great that he feels comfortable coming here. Obviously, we're open arms," Atkinson continued. "I'll ask for his feedback when he's got a practice or that."

Thibodeau, 68, is a two-time Coach of the Year, winning the award in 2011 and 2021. He has 13 seasons of NBA head coaching experience and has coached in 214 playoff games as an assistant, associate head coach, and head coach.

He was a head coach for the Chicago Bulls starting in 2010, the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2016 to 2019, and the New York Knicks from 2020 to 2025.

New York hired him July 30, 2020. With the Knicks, he went 226-174 and reached the playoffs in four of five seasons. The Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, then fired him that summer. That run was the franchise's first trip to the conference finals since 2000.

Thibodeau broke into the NBA as a Minnesota Timberwolves assistant in 1989. Boston named him associate head coach on Aug. 30, 2007, and he was on the Celtics' 2008 championship staff.

Last October, he was spotted at other teams' training camps, including Phoenix's, Newsweek reported. In May, Newsday's Steve Popper reported him as a possible candidate for Orlando's head coaching vacancy. The Magic hired Sean Sweeney on June 1.

Atkinson said there is a respect factor among coaches who have competed against each other for a long time.

"Just that, just that. I think I pretty much feel comfortable with anybody in our coaching circle to invite or go visit them," Atkinson explained. "Like I said, we've been competing for a long time. There's that respect factor, and I always try to reach out."

The two overlapped as head coaches from 2016 to 2019, when Atkinson ran the Brooklyn Nets and Thibodeau ran the Timberwolves. Atkinson stepped down in Brooklyn in March 2020 and later spent three seasons on Steve Kerr's Golden State Warriors staff before Cleveland hired him in June 2024. Atkinson began his coaching career in 2004.

Thibodeau's Knicks eliminated Cleveland in five games in the first round in 2023, when J.B. Bickerstaff coached the Cavaliers. Jalen Brunson scored 23 points in the 106-95 clincher in Cleveland, and New York won a playoff series for the first time since 2013.

Mike Brown replaced Thibodeau in New York. Brown's Knicks swept Cleveland in the conference finals in May and then won the title.

Atkinson's first Cleveland team went 64-18, and he was named Coach of the Year. Last season, the Cavaliers went 52-30 before the sweep.

Cleveland opens Thursday at Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.