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Jeff Van Gundy
Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American basketball coach and former commentator who is the lead assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Gundy previously served as head coach in the NBA for the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. During his tenure with the Knicks, he led the team to the 1999 NBA Finals, where they ultimately fell to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Van Gundy won an NBA championship in 2024 with the Boston Celtics, where he served as a senior consultant in the front office.
Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California, and lived in Martinez, California until 1977. His family moved to Brockport, New York, while Van Gundy was still in high school, and he attended and played basketball at Brockport High School.
He is the son of basketball coach Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at Genesee Community College, and the younger brother of former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy.
As a high school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport to the Class AA finals. Van Gundy attended Yale University before transferring to Menlo College, and ultimately graduating from New York's Nazareth University in 1985.
At Nazareth, Van Gundy led the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III tournament berth in 1984. He remains the Nazareth career leader in free throw percentage, at 86.8%.
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.
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.
On March 8, 1996, the Knicks named Van Gundy their next head coach, taking over the reins from Don Nelson. In his second game as head coach, he notably led the Knicks to a 32-point blowout win over the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who had eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs four times since 1989. However, Van Gundy was unable to change that trend in the postseason, as the Knicks fell to Chicago in the conference semifinals.
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Jeff Van Gundy
Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American basketball coach and former commentator who is the lead assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Van Gundy previously served as head coach in the NBA for the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. During his tenure with the Knicks, he led the team to the 1999 NBA Finals, where they ultimately fell to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Van Gundy won an NBA championship in 2024 with the Boston Celtics, where he served as a senior consultant in the front office.
Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California, and lived in Martinez, California until 1977. His family moved to Brockport, New York, while Van Gundy was still in high school, and he attended and played basketball at Brockport High School.
He is the son of basketball coach Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at Genesee Community College, and the younger brother of former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy.
As a high school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport to the Class AA finals. Van Gundy attended Yale University before transferring to Menlo College, and ultimately graduating from New York's Nazareth University in 1985.
At Nazareth, Van Gundy led the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III tournament berth in 1984. He remains the Nazareth career leader in free throw percentage, at 86.8%.
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.
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.
On March 8, 1996, the Knicks named Van Gundy their next head coach, taking over the reins from Don Nelson. In his second game as head coach, he notably led the Knicks to a 32-point blowout win over the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who had eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs four times since 1989. However, Van Gundy was unable to change that trend in the postseason, as the Knicks fell to Chicago in the conference semifinals.
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