Isiah Thomas Makes Stunning Knicks Return Years After Leaving Organization as New Board Role Emerges

Nearly two decades after working for the New York Knicks, NBA legend Isiah Thomas is making his return to the team. This time around, he is set to join the Knicks' board of directors. According to sources, New York is currently restructuring their business and intends to create a separate publicly traded company called MSG Knickerbockers Corp.

New York Basketball on X reported that Thomas will officially join the board once the standalone company establishes itself in the first week of the 2026-27 season.

"Isiah Thomas is back," New York Basketball wrote. "The former Knicks coach & president has been appointed to the board of the Knicks. Thomas will join the board of directors when the Knicks become a standalone public company the first week of the season."

New York Basketball also noted that because Thomas has maintained a close relationship with Knicks owner James Dolan, it wasn't a difficult decision for the team to have the former NBA star on board.

"Isiah Thomas has stayed in James Dolan’s orbit since leaving the Knicks, including as an informal adviser, then president of the MSG-owned Liberty from 2015-19, and a Sphere board member since 2020," New York Basketball wrote.

It's also worth noting that IT's role won't involve anything basketball-related. It's purely a corporate role that involves answering to shareholders rather than having a say in basketball operations, roster management, or day-to-day team decisions.

Looking Back at Isiah Thomas' First Stint With Knicks

Isiah Thomas' initial run with the New York Knicks in the 2000s was quite a mess. In December 2003, Knicks owner James Dolan hired Thomas to replace Scott Layden as the team's president of basketball operations.

IT immediately went to work, as he was responsible for the Stephon Marbury trade in January 2004. It seemed like a promising start to Thomas' presidency, as his business decision to trade for Marbury resulted in a playoff appearance. What nobody anticipated was that it would be the only playoff appearance the Knicks would make throughout Thomas' time as president.

After New York's first-round exit in 2004, Isiah assembled an expensive roster. He invested in guys like Jerome James, to whom he offered $30 million, and Jared Jeffries, who was also offered $30 million.

Then, in October 2005, the Knicks pursued Eddy Curry in a sign-and-trade deal. The exchange involved multiple first-round picks sent to the Chicago Bulls, which later led to the drafting of LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah, arguably better players than Curry.

In that same year, Thomas hired Larry Brown to become the Knicks' head coach. On paper, it wasn't a bad decision, especially since he had formerly coached NBA legend Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. However, Brown's tenure with the Knicks resulted in a 23-59 record in the 2005-06 season.

Ultimately, Brown was fired after one season, which forced Thomas to step off the sidelines and coach the team himself. From 2006 to 2008, IT served as the Knicks' head coach while fulfilling his duties as the team's president of basketball operations.

Apparently, Thomas couldn't do any better, as he failed to lead the Knicks to a playoff berth within his two seasons as head coach. In the 2006-07 season, New York went 33-49. Then, in the 2007-08 season, Thomas mirrored Brown's results, going 23-59.

Since everything appeared to be going down the drain for the Knicks, Dolan made the ultimate decision to fire Thomas in April 2008.