Celtics reportedly discussed assistant coach position with Jeff Van Gundy
The Celtics have already added a pair of notable assistant coaches this offseason.
The Celtics bolstered Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff almost immediately after their season ended in May. It appears they almost added another notable name to the staff, too.
Jeff Van Gundy discussed joining the Celtics in some capacity as he is exploring a return to coaching and has spoken with multiple teams about becoming an assistant coach, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported.
Most NBA fans likely know Van Gundy, 61, from his role at ESPN, where he worked on the network’s top broadcasting crew and announced 16 NBA Finals. However, he was among several notable on-air staffers that were let go by the World Wide Leader as part of a round of layoffs to cut costs.
Prior to his near-two-decade tenure as an announcer, Van Gundy enjoyed an accomplished coaching career. He worked as an assistant for the Knicks for seven seasons before becoming their head coach in 1996. The Knicks kept their spot as a title contender with Van Gundy at the helm, even reaching the NBA Finals in 1999 but fell short to the San Antonio Spurs. New York went 248-172 during Van Gundy’s time there before he resigned during the 2001-02 season.
Van Gundy continued to find success in his next coaching stop with the Houston Rockets. He coached there for four seasons, helping them reach the playoffs in three of them.
Van Gundy has a 430-318 (.575) record in his 11 seasons as an NBA head coach.
While Van Gundy stepped away from the NBA coaching ranks for the last 16 seasons, he remained in the coaching game in recent seasons. He was the head coach of the United States men’s national basketball team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup Tournament and for the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Van Gundy also served as an assistant for the national team in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics, working with Jayson Tatum in both tournaments and Jaylen Brown in the former.
In addition to speaking with the Celtics, Van Gundy has also spoken with the Mavericks and Wizards about possible a coaching role, Mannix reported.
Boston has already added a pair of notable names to its coaching staff this offseason. It hired former Celtics point guard and 76ers assistant Sam Cassell, who has been a head coach candidate in recent seasons. It also hired former Bucks lead assistant Charles Lee for the same role.
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