The Knicks formally announced on Thursday that they have hired Tom Thibodeau as their next head coach.

“Tom Thibodeau is a proven winner who gets the most out of the players and teams that he has coached,” Leon Rose, the Knicks’ president, said in a statement. “He will bring leadership, accountability and a hard-working mentality to our organization. We are excited to bring him back to New York and look forward to collaborating with him and his staff toward a successful future.”

Thibodeau, a former Knicks assistant under Jeff Van Gundy, said he’s looking forward to returning to New York.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to this historic franchise as head coach and work alongside a talented front office that I have great trust in and respect for,” Thibodeau said in a statement. “I know what New York is like when the Knicks are successful and there is nothing comparable. I look forward to being a part of what we are building here and can’t wait to get to work.”

During coaching stints in Chicago and Minnesota, Thibodeau amassed the 11th-highest winning percentage (.589) among coaches who have been on the sidelines for at least 500 games.

Thibodeau inherits a Knicks team that has finished with a winning percentage below .400 in each of the past six seasons. New York has won just one playoff series in the last 20 seasons, but the former Knicks assistant coach has a winning pedigree.

The Knicks interviewed at least 11 candidates for the job.

Many around the league long assumed that Thibodeau, who is close with Rose, was going to get the job. But there was some uncertainty in the days before the agreement. The Knicks hadn’t entered formal negotiations with any candidates as of last Thursday morning. There was enough uncertainty at that point that some with the Knicks felt they’d need to talk to candidates again early this week.

Later on Thursday, the Knicks were said to have made some progress with Thibodeau’s side. The deal was essentially completed on Saturday. It is expected to be for five years, but it is unclear if all of those years are fully guaranteed.

The length of the deal is believed to coincide with timelines for Rose.

The Knicks also interviewed Mike Woodson, Knicks interim head coach Mike Miller, ex-Nets head coach and current Lakers assistant Jason Kidd, Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown, ex-Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, Chicago Bulls assistant Chris Fleming, Dallas Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley, San Antonio Spurs assistant Will Hardy, Philadelphia 76ers lead assistant Ime Udoka and Orlando Magic assistant Pat Delany.

Miller and Woodson have strong internal support to be added as assistants on Thibodeau’s staff, according to SNY sources.

Rose, executive vice president and senior advisor William “World Wide Wes” Wesley, GM Scott Perry and Vice President of Basketball and Strategic Planning Brock Aller were among the group of Knicks participating in the interviews, per SNY sources.

Thibodeau, the Knicks’ 10th full-time head coach since 2002, was fired in Minnesota midway through the 2018-19 season. He served as team president of the Timberwolves.

If recent history is any indication, the Knicks should see a significant win increase early in Thibodeau’s tenure. The Timberwolves won 29 games the year before Thibodeau arrived. Two years later, they won 47 games and reached the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons (the second-longest drought in NBA history). The Bulls won 41 games the year before Thibodeau took over. Thibodeau coached Chicago to 62 wins in his first season as head coach and was named Coach of the Year that season.

Whether the Knicks can make a jump in wins next season depends, in part, on what they do in the offseason. They may have as much as $60 million in cap space to spend in free agency and have a lottery pick, a late first-round pick and an early second-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

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