Jeff Van Gundy
NBA | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Born | Hemet, California, U.S. | January 19, 1962||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | Brockport Central (Brockport, New York) | ||||||||||||||
College |
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Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
Coaching career | 1985–2007 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
As coach: | |||||||||||||||
1985–1986 | McQuaid Jesuit HS | ||||||||||||||
1986–1988 | Providence (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
1988–1989 | Rutgers (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
1989–1996 | New York Knicks (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
1996–2001 | New York Knicks | ||||||||||||||
2003–2007 | Houston Rockets | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
As coach: | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator and former basketball coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his tenure on the Knicks, he led the team to the 1999 NBA Finals, where they ultimately lost to the San Antonio Spurs. He currently serves as a senior consultant in the Boston Celtics front office.
Early life
Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California, and grew up in the town of Martinez, California.[1] He is the son of a basketball coach, Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at Genesee Community College.[2] Jeff's elder brother, Stan, later became head coach of the NBA's Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and the New Orleans Pelicans, and is the former head coach and director of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons.[3]
As a high-school
Van Gundy attended
Coaching career
Early career
Van Gundy began his basketball coaching career during the 1985–86 season, at McQuaid Jesuit High School, in Rochester, New York. The following year, he became a graduate assistant under head coach Rick Pitino, at Providence College, helping the Providence Friars advance to the Final Four. In his second season with the Friars, he was promoted to assistant coach under Gordon Chiesa. The next season, Van Gundy became an assistant coach under Bob Wenzel, at Rutgers.
New York Knicks
On July 28, 1989, Van Gundy became an assistant coach for the New York Knicks. He spent the next six-and-a-half seasons providing support to Knicks head coaches Stu Jackson (1989–1990), John MacLeod (1990–1991), Pat Riley (1991–1995), and Don Nelson (1995–1996). During his tenure as an assistant coach, the Knicks won three Atlantic Division titles, never finished lower than third in the division, and qualified for the playoffs every year. The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference finals in 1993, and the NBA Finals versus the Houston Rockets in 1994.[6]
On March 8, 1996, Van Gundy was named head coach of the
In his first full season as head coach, the Knicks tied for the third-best record in franchise history, at 57–25.
In the
The Knicks followed up their Finals run with a 50–32 season, and advanced to the
In a 2001 game between the Spurs and Knicks,
Just 19 games into the 2001–02 season, Van Gundy resigned from the Knicks' head coach position.[18] The move was unexpected, as the Knicks were on a winning streak, and coming off a 14–point victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.[19]
Houston Rockets
On June 10, 2003, Van Gundy was named head coach of the Houston Rockets, replacing Rudy Tomjanovich.[20] In his first season as the team's head coach, the Rockets finished with a 45–37 record, and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five years, but they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers.
In his second season with the Rockets, Van Gundy guided the team, led by the
McGrady and Yao missed a combined 70 games due to injury in the 2005–06 season, and Van Gundy did not make the playoffs for the first time in his NBA head coaching career. In May 2005, Van Gundy was fined $100,000 by the NBA, for accusing referees of targeting Houston Rockets center Yao Ming. Van Gundy blamed Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for causing the referees' alleged bias. This is the largest fine handed down to a coach in NBA history.[21]
The injuries and disappointments continued for the Rockets into the following season, with injuries limiting Yao to just 48 games played, and McGrady also not fully recovered from his injuries. The Rockets went on a late season run, on the back of a resurgence from McGrady, but another first round playoff loss, this time to the Utah Jazz, sealed Van Gundy's fate as the team's head coach. At the conclusion of their decisive Game 7 loss in the first round of the playoffs, Van Gundy was fired, and then replaced by Rick Adelman.
National team career
In July 2017, it was announced that Van Gundy would be the head coach of the senior
Van Gundy went on to guide the US to the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup, and also to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.[23]
Broadcasting career
Following his firing from the
Front office career
On October 14, 2023, the Boston Celtics announced that Van Gundy had joined the team as a senior consultant to the basketball operations division.[30]
Life outside basketball
Van Gundy's older brother is Stan Van Gundy.
On May 8, 2011, Van Gundy received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, from his alma mater,
NBA head coaching record
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York | 1995–96 | 23 | 13 | 10 | .565 | 2nd in Atlantic | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
New York | 1996–97 | 82 | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2nd in Atlantic | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
New York | 1997–98 | 82 | 43 | 39 | .524 | 2nd in Atlantic | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | Lost in Conference semifinals |
New York | 1998–99 | 50 | 27 | 23 | .540 | 4th in Atlantic | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | Lost in NBA Finals |
New York | 1999–00 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 2nd in Atlantic | 16 | 9 | 7 | .563 | Lost in Conference finals |
New York | 2000–01 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3rd in Atlantic | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in first round |
New York | 2001–02 | 19 | 10 | 9 | .526 | (resigned) | — | — | — | — | — |
Houston | 2003–04 | 82 | 45 | 37 | .549 | 5th in Midwest | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost in first round |
Houston | 2004–05 | 82 | 51 | 31 | .622 | 3rd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in first round |
Houston | 2005–06 | 82 | 34 | 48 | .415 | 5th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Houston | 2006–07 | 82 | 52 | 30 | .634 | 3rd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in first round |
Career | 748 | 430 | 318 | .575 | 88 | 44 | 44 | .500 |
References
- ^ From the archives: The Van Gundys love this game.
- ^ Coaching Van Gundy brothers honor their proud father, usatoday.com; accessed January 4, 2016.
- ^ Detroit Pistons Name Stan Van Gundy Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations.
- ^ "Hoop Dream : a Q & A with Jeff Van Gundy". Nazareth University. Nazareth University.
- ^ Berkow, Ira (April 21, 1997). "From a Scouting Assignment at Age 10, Van Gundy Has Risen to the Top". The New York Times.
- ^ Jeff Van Gundy profile Archived 2007-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, NBA.com; accessed January 4, 2016.
- ^ Van's the Man -- Relieved to be rid of Don Nelson, the Knicks blew away the Bulls for new coach Jeff Van Gundy
- ^ New York Nightmare: Knicks 104, Bulls 72
- ^ "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 24, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ Brown, Clifton (April 20, 1997). "When a Knick Victory Is Not Just a Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ^ Alonzo Mourning stats
- ^ #2 Larry Johnson HT 6-7.
- ^ Larry Johnson stats
- ^ Jeff Van Gundy stats
- ^ "In Aftermath of Fight, Van Gundy Becomes the Little Big Coach", nytimes.com, May 3, 1998.
- ^ PRO BASKETBALL; Sprewell Carries On, Even With Ewing In.
- ^ Van Gundy hit by Marcus Camby, abcnews.go.com; accessed January 4, 2016.
- ^ Van Gundy quits; Chaney reportedly will finish season
- ^ Resigning After 19 Games, Van Gundy Shocks the Knicks
- ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; Van Gundy Accepts Job As Coach of the Rockets (Published 2003)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022.
- ^ "Van Gundy Runs Afoul of League and Pays a Price", nytimes.com, May 3, 2005; accessed January 4, 2016.
- ^ "Jeff Van Gundy". USA Basketball. July 5, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
- ^ After accomplishing their World Cup mission, the USA sigh in relief.
- ^ Spurs-Cavs match up isn't main attraction
- ^ Joseph, Adi (May 31, 2017). "Mike Breen knows he can't control Jeff Van Gundy, and ABC's 'point guard' doesn't want to". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ Contes, Brandon (June 2, 2022). "Jeff Van Gundy and Adrian Wojnarowski to miss Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Celtics and Warriors after positive COVID tests". Awful Announcing. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ Sherman, Alex (June 30, 2023). "ESPN lays off about 20 on-air personalities including NBA analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Jalen Rose". CNBC. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
- ^ McCarthy, Michael (August 14, 2023). "It's Official: Doris Burke Joins ESPN's No. 1 NBA Announce Team". Front Office Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
- ^ Reedy, Joe (August 14, 2023). "Doris Burke and Doc Rivers named to ESPN and ABC's top NBA crew". AP News. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Celtics hire Jeff Van Gundy as senior consultant". ESPN.com. October 14, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Jeff Van Gundy at basketballreference.com
- Jeff Van Gundy at usab.com