NBA players must earn their stripes before feeling entitled to have a beef with their coaches.
Of course, it’s not ideal to have bad blood with your coach, regardless of who you are, but sometimes, it feels like some young players try to step over their coaches long before they accomplish anything in the league.
That was the case between Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns and his former head coach, Tom Thibodeau.
Thibs and Jimmy Butler led the Timberwolves to the playoffs for the first time in quite a while, yet Towns was never fond of him playing him heavy minutes and barely playing the young guys.
Towns once stated that Thibs’ player development model was ‘a slap in the face,’ and he didn’t seem too worried when the Timberwolves fired him midway through the season.
However, all that seems to be water under the bridge now, as Towns recently stated that they both squashed the beef (via Stefan Bondy and NBA Central).
Karl-Anthony Towns reveals he “squashed” his beef with Tom Thibodeau 👀
(Via @SbondyNBA ) pic.twitter.com/3rhx3BktSS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 14, 2023
The Timberwolves hadn’t been to the playoffs in 14 years before Butler and Thibs turned the franchise around.
They struggled to get anything going the following season, which coincided with the fact that Butler was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers after also feuding with Towns.
Fast forward to today, and time has put everybody in their rightful place.
Butler is no longer considered a toxic teammate and is arguably a top-10 player with two trips to the NBA Finals in the past four years.
Thibodeau has made the New York Knicks better every year he’s been there.
Towns, on the other hand, is no longer the franchise player in Minnesota, with Anthony Edwards taking that distinction away with his impactful play and strong character.
NEXT: Knicks Are Reportedly Monitoring Timberwolves Star
