Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

and former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). During his tenure on the Knicks, he led the team to the

1999 NBA Finals The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs took on the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for ...

, where they ultimately lost to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

Early life

Van Gundy was born in

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

, and grew up in the town of

Martinez, California Martinez ( Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait, the city's popul ...

. He is the son of a basketball coach, Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at

Genesee Community College Genesee Community College (GCC) is a public community college with its main campus in Batavia, New York. It has campus centers in Albion, Medina, Warsaw, Dansville, Arcade, Lima (previously Lakeville), New York. Thus, the college covers areas no ...

. Jeff's elder brother, Stan, later became head coach of the NBA's

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, Orlando Magic, and the New Orleans Pelicans, and is the former head coach and director of basketball operations for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. As a high-school point guard, Van Gundy was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980, leading Brockport Central to the Class AA finals. He continued his basketball playing career at Nazareth College, where he earned All-American honors, while leading 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 attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he was a classmate with

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

, before transferring to

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

, and ultimately graduating from New York's Nazareth College, in 1985.

Coaching career

Early career

Van Gundy began his basketball coaching career during the 1985–86 season, at

McQuaid Jesuit High School McQuaid Jesuit High School is an all-male, Catholic, Jesuit, college preparatory school run by the USA Northeast Jesuit province of the Society of Jesus in the metropolitan area of Rochester, New York. The school is named Named after Bernard J. M ...

, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

. The following year, he became a graduate assistant under head coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

, at Providence College, helping the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compe ...

advance to the Final Four. In his second season with the Friars, he was promoted to assistant coach under

Gordon Chiesa Gordon Chiesa is American basketball coach: he served as the assistant coach for the Utah Jazz for 16 seasons from 1989–90 to 2004–05. Early life Gordon Chiesa is a native of Union City, New Jersey.Bob Wenzel Bob Wenzel (born October 4, 1949) is a former American college basketball coach and broadcaster for the Big Ten Network, ESPN, CBS Sports and Fox Sports. Biography College playing/Coaching career Wenzel graduated from Rutgers University in 1971 ...

, at

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

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 Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

(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, Van Gundy was named head coach of the New York Knicks, 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 The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

, 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. In his first full season as head coach, the Knicks tied for the third-best record in franchise history, at 57–25. In the regular season finale, the Knicks defeated the 69–12

in Chicago, preventing them from posting two consecutive 70-win seasons in a row, and tying the best home record in NBA history. Van Gundy created a memorable scene in the 1998 NBA Playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the

. When the Heat's 6'10" (2.08 m), 240 lb. (109 kg) center Alonzo Mourning, and the Knicks' 6'7" (2.01 m), 250 lb. (113 kg) power forward Larry Johnson, engaged in a bench-clearing brawl, Van Gundy unsuccessfully tried to break the fight up. Most memorably, the 5'9" (1.75 m), 165 lb. (75 kg) Van Gundy fell to the floor, and clung to Mourning's leg. Suspensions were handed down for the brawl, but the Knicks held on to win the series 3-2 and moved on to play the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. In the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

–shortened 1998–99 season, the Knicks struggled with injuries (namely to all-star

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the N ...

) and finished 27–23 to finish as the eighth seed for the playoffs (they had to win six of their remaining eight games just to qualify). In the first round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, the Knicks defied expectations and defeated the Heat in five games, avenging the previous season's playoff loss and becoming just the second 8th seed to defeat the number one seed in the playoffs. The win propelled an improbable run for the Knicks, as they swept the Hawks in the semifinals, and defeated the Pacers in six games, to advance to the NBA Finals. Without Ewing, they were no match in the Finals against the Spurs, and lost the series in five games. The Knicks were the first eighth-seeded team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals. The Knicks followed up their Finals run with a 50–32 season, and advanced to the

Conference Finals Conference Finals may refer to: * NBA Conference Finals, National Basketball Association * NHL Conference Finals The National Hockey League (NHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and Western Conference championship series of the NHL. ...

, where they were defeated by the Indiana Pacers. Until the 2013 playoffs, this was the last time the Knicks won a playoff series. In a 2001 game between the Spurs and Knicks,

Danny Ferry Daniel John Willard Ferry (born October 17, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and an All-American college player at Duke University. He most recently served as interim genera ...

elbowed

Marcus Camby Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

. While talking to the referee, Camby lost control and tried to punch Ferry. Camby missed and hit Van Gundy instead, who said he learned his lesson about trying to break up fights between players. The Knicks finished 48–34, but lost in the first round to the Raptors. Just 19 games into the 2001–02 season, Van Gundy resigned from the Knicks' head coach position. The move was unexpected, as the Knicks were on a winning streak, and coming off a 14–point victory against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

Houston Rockets

On June 10, 2003, Van Gundy was named head coach of the Houston Rockets, replacing

Rudy Tomjanovich Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, whic ...

. 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 Yao Ming /

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

duo, to a 51–31 record, which was their first season with more than 50 wins in eight years. The Rockets once again lost in the first round of the playoffs, this time to the Dallas Mavericks. 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 Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

for causing the referees' alleged bias. This is the largest fine handed down to a coach in NBA history. 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 The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, 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 Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden ...

National team career

In July 2017, it was announced that Van Gundy would be the head coach of the senior

United States men's national basketball team The USA Basketball Men's National Team, commonly known as the United States men's national basketball team, is the basketball team representing the United States. They are the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in ...

at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup tournament, and in the qualifiers for the

2019 FIBA World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 FIBA World Ch ...

in China. USA head coach

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who is the president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Taking over as coach of the Spur ...

would then resume coaching the team at the World Cup, and at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, should they qualify for either. Team USA became Van Gundy's first coaching job since leaving the Rockets in 2007. 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.

Broadcasting career

Following his firing from the Houston Rockets in 2007, Van Gundy was a guest analyst for

's broadcast of the Phoenix Suns-

game in San Antonio, Texas, and he has since been a regular broadcast member for ESPN. He now calls games as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

with play-by-play announcer

Mike Breen Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an American play-by-play sports commentator for '' NBA on ABC'' and is the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen also calls NBA games for ESPN and was formerly a play-by-play anno ...

and Mark Jackson, including the NBA Finals.

Life outside basketball

Jeff Van Gundy was an executive board member of Pro-Vision Academy, a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

and non-profit organization in Houston, that provides educational, job-training, and mentoring services to boys and girls aged 10–18. 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, Nazareth College, during the college's 84th Annual Commencement Ceremony.

NBA head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 23, , 13, , 10, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, , 8, , 4, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 57, , 25, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Atlantic, , 10, , 6, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 43, , 39, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Atlantic, , 10, , 4, , 6, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 50, , 27, , 23, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Atlantic, , 20, , 12, , 8, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in NBA Finals , - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 50, , 32, , , , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Atlantic, , 16, , 9, , 7, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 48, , 34, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Atlantic, , 5, , 2, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in first round , - , style="text-align:left;", New York , style="text-align:left;", , 19, , 10, , 9, , , , style="text-align:center;", (resigned), , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 45, , 37, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Midwest, , 5, , 1, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in first round , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 51, , 31, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, , 7, , 3, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in first round , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 34, , 48, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 52, , 30, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Southwest, , 7, , 3, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in first round , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 748, , 430, , 318, , , , , , 88, , 44, , 44, , , ,

References

External links

Jeff Van Gundy
at basketballreference.com
Jeff Van Gundy
at usab.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Gundy, Jeff 1962 births Living people American color commentators American men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American people of Dutch descent Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York (state) Brockport Golden Eagles men's basketball players College basketball announcers in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets head coaches Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Menlo College alumni National Basketball Association broadcasters Nazareth College (New York) alumni New York Knicks assistant coaches New York Knicks head coaches People from Hemet, California People from Monroe County, New York Point guards Providence Friars men's basketball coaches United States men's national basketball team coaches