How Tom Thibodeau made one of the NBA’s all-time greats

Few will argue the late Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time thanks to his achievements during a 20-year career in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. But could he have done it without the help of departed New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau?

Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash at the age of 40 in 2020, did it all in the NBA over the course of two decades. The shooting guard retired from the game as a five-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and the NBA’s MVP for 2008. Among other accomplishments, of course.

Thibodeau has never coached the Lakers yet still played a vital role in the development of one-team man Bryant.

Kobe Bryant’s praise for “crucial” Thibodeau

Between 1994 and 1996, “Thibs” served as assistant coach for the Sixers in Philadelphia, Kobe’s hometown. The story goes that a teenage Bryant would scrimmage with the Sixers after school, after which Thibodeau would offer personal tuition to the young NBA hopeful (it worked out rather well for him).

In 2010, Bryant himself spoke of the pair’s interactions and couldn’t praise Thibodeau enough for the part he had played in his fledgling career. “Tom was crucial to my development. He was with me when I was 16 or 17 years old. Just doing drills and just working on ballhandling and just teaching me the game. He was there from Day 1”.

Although Thibodeau was also an assistant coach for the United States men’s basketball team between 2013 and 2016, he missed out on working with Bryant, who retired from the national team after the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tom Thibodeau fired by the Knicks

Thibodeau took the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five years in New York but was fired days after the Eastern Conference Finals playoff defeat to the Indiana Pacers, the furthest the Knicks have gone in the postseason since 2000.

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