The New York Knicks fired coach Derek Fisher during the 2015–16 NBA season. The Knicks dismissed Fisher on February 8, 2016, after he had coached the team for roughly a season and a half.
Fisher became New York’s head coach before the 2014–15 season. The former Los Angeles Lakers point guard was a five-time NBA champion as a player, but his coaching tenure with the Knicks produced a 40–96 record. New York struggled to turn a rebuilding roster into a consistent playoff team.
After Fisher’s dismissal, assistant coach Kurt Rambis took over for the remainder of the season. The Knicks finished the 2015–16 campaign with a 32–50 record and missed the playoffs. The team was led by president Phil Jackson, Fisher’s former coach during his championship years with the Lakers.
A common mix-up is confusing Fisher’s firing with later Knicks coaching changes. Jeff Hornacek became New York’s head coach before the 2016–17 season, while Fisher’s immediate replacement for the rest of the 2015–16 season was Rambis.