Jeff Van Gundy and the LA Clippers have agreed to a deal that will bring the former television analyst to the organization as the lead assistant on coach Tyronn Lue's staff, a team source confirmed Tuesday.
ESPN first reported the news.
Van Gundy, 62, spent the 2024 season as a senior adviser for the Boston Celtics, helping the franchise capture a record 18th championship after the team's Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals on Monday.
Before joining the Celtics, Van Gundy worked as an analyst for ESPN for 16 years but was fired last June amid a round of layoffs at the network to save costs.
He joined ESPN in 2007 – most notably appearing on NBA Finals broadcasts with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson during his tenure with the network – after 11 seasons in the NBA as the head coach for the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. His head coaching record in the league was 430-318 (.575).
Lue played under Van Gundy for one season while with the Rockets in 2004, and the two coached together on USA Basketball’s staff.
How Van Gundy fits in with the Clippers
The Clippers already had an active offseason regarding their coaching situation, signing Lue to a five-year contract extension in May. But Lue lost several members of his coaching staff, including associate head coach Dan Craig, the team's de facto defensive coordinator. Craig left the team to serve as the lead assistant for the Chicago Bulls.
That's where Van Gundy comes in. The Clippers call Van Gundy “one of the most brilliant basketball minds in the world.” Lue started the 2004-05 season with Van Gundy's Rockets before being traded to Atlanta for Jon Barry. Twenty years later, Van Gundy and Lue are on the same team again.
Aside from bringing in a new face, it will be interesting to see if Lue puts Van Gundy in charge of the Clippers' defense instead of Craig. Lue's 2004-05 Rockets ranked fourth in defensive efficiency while allowing the fewest points in the paint. It's notable that he had future Hall of Fame centers Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo manning the paint. Van Gundy's coaching tree includes Tom Thibodeau, who is still known for packing the paint as coach of the New York Knicks.
Van Gundy hasn’t coached in the NBA since 2007 and hasn’t been an assistant since the Knicks fired Don Nelson in March 1996. But Van Gundy kept his basketball mind fresh, working as a consultant with the championship-winning Celtics last season while guiding the U.S. basketball team in the 2017 AmeriCup tournament and qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Another coach on Lue's staff is Dante Jones, who is also worth keeping an eye on. Last year, Jones led the Clippers in Summer League, and he is expected to take over that role again, according to a team source. When Craig was injured in 2022, Jones was given more responsibilities to help run the defense. Now, Jones could work with Van Gundy as the Clippers look to improve on a season when the Clippers ranked 16th in defensive efficiency. — Lou Murray, Clippers staff writer
Required Reading
(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)