NBA: Jeff Van Gundy Set To Join Clippers As Lead Assistant Coach

Jeff Van Gundy will finally make his NBA coaching return next season after reportedly agreeing to become Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue’s top assistant

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Updated on: 19 June 2024 1:19 am

United States coach Jeff Van Gundy

Jeff Van Gundy will finally make his NBA coaching return next season after reportedly agreeing to become Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue’s top assistant. (Other Sports News)

The 62-year-old Van Gundy spent this season as a senior consultant for the Boston Celtics, who won their 18th NBA title by beating the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in Game 5 of the Finals on Monday.

Prior to working with the Celtics, Van Gundy was a television analyst for ESPN for 16 years after being the head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets.

Van Gundy took over the Knicks in March 1996 and resigned 19 games into the 2001-02 season, a stretch that saw New York reach the NBA Finals in the lockout shortened 1998-99 campaign.

Houston hired Van Gundy in June 2003 and fired him after a first-round playoff exit in 2007.

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 owns a career coaching record of 430-318 in the regular season and 44-44 in the playoffs.

The Clippers went 51-31 this season and won the Pacific Division title for the first time since 2013-14, but they were eliminated by the Mavericks in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

Los Angeles signed Lue, who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016, to a five-year, $70million extension last month.