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Robot Story of the Week: is Doc Rivers the Right Man for the Knicks Job?
Published:
Tom Thibodeau is OUT in New York City. Could Doc Rivers be the guy to get the Knicks over the hump? We asked ChatGPT to weave us a tale, and this is what it returned:
It’s Not Crazy, It’s Visionary”: A Knicks Fan Talks Himself Into Doc Rivers
Joey Mancuso has done this before.
In 2012, it was “STAT and Melo just need time.”
In 2018, it was “Frank Ntilikina has that it factor.”
And in 2021, when the Knicks won 41 games and got booted in the first round by Trae Young, it was “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”Now, it’s June 2025. Tom Thibodeau is out. And Joey is staring into the basketball abyss of yet another coaching search, trying to convince himself that Doc Rivers—yes, that Doc Rivers—is the guy to bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy back to Madison Square Garden.
“Look, man,” he says to his skeptical friend Reggie at a midtown bar, sipping a lukewarm IPA. “Doc’s a players coach. Guys love him. He’s got the voice. The gravitas. That playoff beard. He’s won a title!”
“You mean the one in 2008?” Reggie replies, eyebrows raised. “With three Hall of Famers? And the last 10 years of playoff meltdowns don’t bother you?”
Joey waves him off like a pick-and-roll defender. “Okay, sure, there was that Clippers collapse. And the Sixers one. And maybe the Bucks thing wasn’t ideal this year. But the Knicks are different. This is the Mecca. You think Doc is gonna choke under the lights at the Garden? He’ll thrive, man.”
Reggie just stares at him. Joey continues.
“Thibs wore ‘em down. Grimes, Quickley—he’s not even here anymore! Randle’s knees are shot and Brunson can’t do it alone. We need a fresh voice. A guy with rings. A guy the league respects. Doc brings that. Stephen A. Smith would love it!”
“You realize you’re describing the vibes, not the tactics, right?” Reggie asks.
Joey leans in. “You don’t need tactics when you have vibes and Jalen Brunson. That man is a general. Doc just has to point and yell something inspirational about Ubuntu or whatever, and Brunson will handle the rest.”
He pulls up a YouTube video of Doc’s 2008 championship speech. He’s misty-eyed.
“You see this guy?” Joey says, tapping his screen. “That’s a leader. That’s a man who cried on the parquet floor. Do you know how rare that is? Tom Thibodeau hasn’t cried since the Bush administration.”
Reggie shrugs. “You know what? Fine. Let’s say they hire Doc. Then what? They still need a wing who can hit threes. They still need spacing. They still need to get past Boston and Milwaukee and—God help us—Orlando.”
Joey sits back, arms crossed. He’s all in now. “Doc Rivers. 2026 NBA Champion. Knicks parade down the Canyon of Heroes. You’ll see.”
Reggie sighs. “I admire your commitment to the bit.”
“It’s not a bit,” Joey says. But they both know it is.
Could it work out? You never know! Maybe the Bucks get off to a slow start and fire Doc, then the Knicks SWOOP in to land him! The Knicks are here baby!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com