misconceptions about Thibodeau is that he’s strictly a defensive specialist." Jeff Van Gundy hired Thibodeau because he was drawn to "his innovative offensive sets" and "player development skills." Player development Thibodeau has been described as a "no-nonsense coach, but his personal authenticity and the success of his strategies endear him to his players." According to Kevin Garnett, who played for Thibodeau in Boston, Thibodeau is "a worker. He's a guy that loves his job. He does it with passion." Thibodeau also helped develop a young Kobe Bryant. "[Thibodeau] was crucial [to my development]. He was with me when I was 16 or 17 years old,” Bryant said in 2010. "Just doing drills and just working on ballhandling and just teaching me the game. He was there from Day 1." In 2005, while an assistant with the Houston Rockets, Thibodeau began working with Yao Ming, traveling to China to hone Yao's skills. According to Jon Barry, a former NBA player who worked as an assistant with the Rockets, "Thibodeau was an effective one-on-one teacher [who spent] countless hours ... working with Yao Ming on his footwork...." Also, former Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy praised Thibodeau for his development of Yao. "Tom was tremendous in developing a routine that Yao could follow — a blueprint to take him from being good to being great,” said Van Gundy. During the 2004–05 season, Yao averaged 18.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. The following season, after working with Thibodeau, Yao averaged 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds. A number of Thibodeau's former players have praised him for his ability to develop their talent. According to Joakim Noah, who played for Thibodeau and finished 4th in MVP voting with the Bulls in 2014, "I feel like I really improved as a player because of him." Rose, who became the youngest MVP in league history under Thibodeau, also had similar praise for his former coach, telling the Detroit News, “I figured out that Thibs loved me unconditionally. He’s the first coach up here that I felt like loved me unconditionally and it wasn’t about what I did for him." Personal life A native of New Britain, Connecticut, Thibodeau was born to Thomas J. Thibodeau Sr., and Ann M. (Montanile) Thibodeau and has four siblings (two brothers and two sisters). He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science in counseling from Salem