Tom Thibodeau served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team from 2013 to 2016, and helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.
24 Facts About Tom Thibodeau
2.
Tom Thibodeau has coached in 214 playoff games as an assistant coach, associate head coach, and head coach.
3.
In 1980, Tom Thibodeau helped Salem State to the league championship and the school's first NCAA Tournament bid.
4.
In 1987, Tom Thibodeau befriended Bill Musselman, a former head coach in the NBA, ABA and NCAA who was coaching the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association.
5.
Tom 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.
6.
On November 4,2007, Tom 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.
7.
On June 2,2010, Tom Thibodeau interviewed with officials from the Chicago Bulls for their vacant head coach position.
8.
Tom 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.
9.
Tom Thibodeau led the Bulls to their first 50-win season and first division title since the Michael Jordan era.
10.
On February 14,2012, Tom Thibodeau clinched the position of Eastern Conference All-Star Coach for the All-Star Game in Orlando.
11.
Tom Thibodeau accomplished this in 130 games, one game fewer than the record set previously by Avery Johnson in 2006.
12.
Tom Thibodeau is a terrific coach who does a lot of things well.
13.
Tom Thibodeau finished second to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs in 2012 NBA Coach of the Year voting.
14.
On May 13,2013, Tom Thibodeau was fined $35,000 for defending his players while commenting on the seemingly inadequate foul calls by the referees during the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat.
15.
Tom Thibodeau finished third in 2014 NBA Coach of the Year voting.
16.
Tom Thibodeau led the second year straight Derrick Rose-less Bulls to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
17.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski heaped enormous praise on Tom Thibodeau, who served as his right-hand man during the victories.
18.
Tom Thibodeau would be released from the Timberwolves in January 2019 after a period of regression following the end of the playoff drought.
19.
Tom Thibodeau has been compared to legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick because of his attention to detail, organization, and game planning.
20.
I've spent a lot of time with Belichick and Tom Thibodeau's got a lot of the same mannerisms, the same attention to detail that Belichick has.
21.
Tom Thibodeau has been called "one of the best coaches in the NBA", sometimes ranking among the top five coaches in the league among NBA general managers.
22.
Tom Thibodeau was ranked 13th best coach in 2017 by ESPN, despite the Timberwolves finishing outside of playoff contention.
23.
In 2005, while an assistant with the Houston Rockets, Tom Thibodeau began working with Yao Ming, traveling to China to hone Yao's skills.
24.
Tom Thibodeau graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science in counseling from Salem State University.