Jeff Van Gundy officially leaves broadcast, returns to NBA coaching

The Los Angeles Clippers have added a key piece to their coaching staff for the 2024-25 NBA season, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

One day after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, Jeff Van Gundy decided to leave the champion Boston Celtics and return to coaching. Van Gundy had previously served as an assistant to the president of basketball operations Brad Stevens.

Van Gundy also served as an analyst with ESPN for 16 years before being let go and ultimately accepting his role in the Celtics front office. He'll be joining head coach Tyronn Lue in Los Angeles.

The Clippers were the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and lost to the conference champion Dallas Mavericks in the first round.

Jeff Van Gundy joins Clippers, returns to coaching

Van Gundy has a prior relationship with Lue, who played under him in 2004 with the Houston Rockets. Van Gundy has not coached in 11 years.

His prior coaching experience speaks for itself, however. Prior to coaching the Rockets, Van Gundy was the head coach of the New York Knicks, and he guided them to the NBA Finals in 1999. He also put together a 248-172 record in the regular season and a 37-32 playoff record.

Over the course of his entire career, Van Gundy owns a 430-318 regular season record and a playoff record of 44-44 between the Knicks and Rockets. He is widely considered one of the sharpest minds in all of basketball thanks in large part to his many years of experience in the game, which should be beneficial for the Clippers.

He and Lue should also work well together given their past experience. Van Gundy also has experience working with the USA National team and has stayed involved in the game of basketball, even while working at ESPN.