Jeff Van Gundy looked relaxed and comfortable hanging around the Celtics for the first couple of games of the NBA Finals, wearing a Celtics baseball cap, sweats and tennis shoes. His work with Boston as a consultant earned him his first ring.
Van Gundy is giving up that laid-back lifestyle to be back on the bench next Tyronn Lue with the Clippers next season. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the long-standing rumor.
ESPN Sources: Jeff Van Gundy — who spent the season as senior consultant for the NBA champion Boston Celtics — has agreed on a deal to become the lead assistant on Ty Lue’s Los Angeles Clippers’ coaching staff. https://t.co/cUPKmRxuzh
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2024
Van Gundy was last on an NBA bench in the 2006-07 season with the Houston Rockets, and before that was the head coach of the New York Knicks (he was the last coach to take New York to the Eastern Conference Finals). He then became one of the most respected color analysts and broadcasters, working with play-by-play legend Mike Breen and former player and coach Mark Jackson for 15 straight NBA Finals.
Disney/ABC/ESPN let Van Gundy go in 2023 in a round of cost-cutting layoffs. At the same time, Van Gundy admitted he was dealing with some personal issues—being empty nesters after his kids moved out, plus death and illness in the family—and the job with the Celtics ended up providing an anchor and some comfort in difficult times.
Van Gundy had the coaching itch before the Celtics came calling — in 2017 he coached Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup Tournament winning gold with a group of G-Leaguers and international players such as Jameel Warney and Xavier Munford. He then led a similar team of G-Leaguers to help the USA qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
Now Van Gundy is back on the bench in a more traditional assistant coach role with a veteran team led by Kawhi Leonard, one moving into the new Intuit Dome next season.
