Jeff Van Gundy will be back on an NBA sideline.
Van Gundy, the former Knicks coach who served as a senior consultant to the 2024 champion Celtics, is joining the Clippers as the lead assistant, according to ESPN.
The 62-year-old’s strong relationships with Clippers coach Ty Lue and his standing among Los Angeles’ decision-makers factored into his decision.
Van Gundy last coached in 2007 when he served as the Rockets’ head coach, and had been linked to various jobs throughout the years.
He instead remained in his ESPN analyst role, which he took up after being axed by Houston and held through June 2023.
Despite being a member of the network’s NBA Finals broadcasting team, ESPN let Van Gundy go after 16 seasons as part of its cost-reduction measures.
One of the factors in ESPN’s decision was a fear that Van Gundy still had the coaching itch and would leave the media giant for a sideline gig.
The Celtics, led by top executive Brad Stevens, swooped in and added Van Gundy to their staff as a senior consultant.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla described Van Gundy as a “weapon”, and that weapon surely helped the Celtics win their 18th title with their 106-88 win over the Mavericks in Game 5 on Monday.
“Jeff’s been great,” Stevens said of Van Gundy before the postseason. “I’ve known Jeff a long time and gotten a chance to spend a lot of time with him over the years.
“It is fun watching a game with him when he doesn’t have to speak in 15-second sound bites. He’s pretty entertaining.”
Van Gundy will now transition from the team with the most titles in NBA history to one of the teams that has zero championships in the Clippers.
Lue and Van Gundy built a “strong” relationship during their time coaching Team USA, per ESPN, and Van Gundy coached Lue on the 2004 Rockets.
Van Gundy served as the Knicks coach from 1995-2001 before leading the Rockets from 2003-07. He tallied a 248-172 record (59.0 percent) during his time as a head coach.
The Clippers lost to the Mavericks in the first round this past season and could potentially lose star Paul George this offseason.
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