Former ESPN analyst and NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy agreed Tuesday to become the top assistant to Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue, sources told ESPN.
Van Gundy previously served as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks from 1989-1996 before transitioning into their head coaching role. He reached the NBA Finals during his tenure with the Knicks, which ended in 2002 with him going to the Houston Rockets. He took over the Rockets bench in 2003 where he coached until his firing in 2007.
Van Gundy accrued a regular season record of 430-318 (.575) in over eleven seasons as a head coach with a 44-44 playoff record, ESPN noted.
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
The former coach then spent 16 years as an analyst on ESPN before he was fired due to “cost-cutting” in June 2023, according to EssentiallySports. He took a role in the Boston Celtics‘ front office as a consultant, where he captured his first NBA Championship on Monday. (RELATED: ‘But First Let Me Thank God’: Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Sports Powerful Shirt After Winning NBA Championship)
Van Gundy is “considered one of the finest minds in basketball and had been pursued for years to return to coaching on a full-time basis,” Wojnarowski reports. He has turned down several head coaching offers, but his relationship with coach Lue helped close the deal with the Clippers, according to ESPN. Lue and Van Gundy worked together on the Team USA basketball staff and the Rockets in 2004.
