Revenge is best served cold.
But for Quentin Grimes, any temperature would have sufficed in his first game at Madison Square Garden since being traded away in 2024.
The former New York Knicks first-round pick looked anxious early, wanting to perform well against his former team on Tuesday night.
Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
Grimes’ 26 points came on poor efficiency and were juiced by a 10-point fourth quarter in a game the Knicks had long stopped caring about. New York won handily while featuring defense, holding the Philadelphia 76ers to just 91 points.
When asked to share his fondest memory from his time with the Knicks after the game, Grimes shared some appreciation for head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“Just playing for Thibs,” Grimes said on April 1. “He kind of gave me a great foundation on what the NBA is, what the NBA is about, how to be a pro, how to approach every game like it’s a Game 7, and stuff like that. So I’m just thankful for kind of having a really tough, hard-nosed coach my first three years. Going and playing for other coaches, it makes it kind of easy.”
Thibodeau isn’t exactly known for gelling with young players.
His focus on the defensive side of the floor has often left top prospects sitting on the sideline while journeymen veterans get playing time.
New York’s trade for Karl-Anthony Towns last summer was met with caution from fans due to the documented differences between Thibs and Towns’ time together with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Immanuel Quickley, who was traded for defensive dynamo OG Anunoby last season, is also on record defending Thibodeau’s coaching style.
“He was great to play for,” Quickley said in an April 2024 appearance on “Run It Back,” an online series from FanDuel. “The practice part, guys just don’t like practicing. I’m not one of those guys, but if you don’t like practice, he’s not for you.”
No one talks about (or at least doesn’t talk about as much) Knicks’ draft picks Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson not only “surviving Thibs” but signing contract extensions to remain in New York. There are two sides to every story. But it seems Thibodeau’s undoubtedly complex NBA legacy has many more.
