NEW YORK — Isiah Thomas is returning to the New York Knicks as a member of the newly formed board of directors for MSG Knickerbockers Corp., rejoining the franchise despite a turbulent earlier tenure as president and head coach. The move comes as MSG Sports splits the Knicks and Rangers into two separate publicly traded companies, with Thomas, a longtime confidante of chairman and CEO James Dolan, named to the Knicks side of the new structure.
Per The Athletic, MSG Sports announced on Wednesday that the separation follows approval this week from its own board of directors. The Rangers and their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, will be managed under MSG Rangers Corp., while MSG Sports will become MSG Knickerbockers Corp. to oversee the Knicks and their G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks. Dolan will serve as chairman and CEO of both companies, and Thomas will serve on the board of MSG Knickerbockers Corp.
Thomas, a Hall of Fame point guard who spent his entire 13-season playing career with the Detroit Pistons and led them to two NBA championships, has been closely affiliated with the Knicks since 2003. Hired that year as president of basketball operations, he oversaw a team that lost in the first round in his first season and missed the postseason in the next four, never winning more than 33 games and finishing 23-59 in 2005-06 to tie a then-franchise record for losses. In 2006, an MSG executive accused Thomas of sexual harassment in a lawsuit later settled by MSG for $11.5 million, and that same year Thomas replaced Larry Brown as head coach while retaining his front-office role, going 33-49 and then 23-59 in 2007-08 to again tie the franchise mark for losses before being fired as coach in 2008.
Even after his dismissal, Thomas remained entrusted by Dolan, staying on in an advisory capacity reporting to successor Donnie Walsh before taking the head coaching job at Florida International in 2009. Dolan hired him again in 2015 to coach the WNBA's New York Liberty, a role that ended when Dolan sold the team to Joseph Tsai in 2019, and Thomas has since served on the board of The Sphere in Las Vegas, also run by Dolan. He now returns in an official capacity with the Knicks fresh off their first NBA title since 1973, though it remains unclear how much influence he will have on basketball operations as a board member.