The Boston Celtics have hired former NBA head coach and ex-ESPN color commentator Jeff Van Gundy to serve as the organization’s senior consultant, per sources.
Van Gundy, 61, will be working under basketball operations and splitting his time between Boston and the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G-League affiliate.
Across 11 seasons as an NBA head coach, the California native amassed an overall record of 430-318 with the New York Knicks (1995-2002) and Houston Rockets (2003-07).
His career playoff record is 44-44. Plus, Van Gundy helped the Knicks reach the NBA Finals during the 1998-99 lockout season before falling to the San Antonio Spurs.
Referring to a few NBA betting sites, the Boston Celtics are the odds-on favorites to win this season’s championship. Sportsbooks are still showing great odds for the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns.
Mazzulla explains what Jeff Van Gundy has brought to the Celtics
⚡️@FDSportsbook @_OddsR @factormeals pic.twitter.com/MoPR0miqql
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) October 14, 2023
Of course, the 1998-99 Knicks were the first No. 8 seed to ever reach the NBA Finals. The 2022-23 Miami Heat became only the second team to accomplish this feat.
For the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, Jeff Van Gundy coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars as well.
Van Gundy has also spent the past 16 years primarily as a broadcaster with ESPN, where he announced 16 NBA Finals. He was part of the ABC/ESPN lead broadcast team with Mark Jackson and play-by-play man Mike Breen.
In June 2023, Van Gundy and Jackson were fired by the network in a round of cost-cutting layoffs.
Other notable additions to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s staff this offseason include Sam Cassell and Charles Lee.
Boston Celtics hire Jeff Van Gundy as senior consultant; Van Gundy to work under basketball operations and split his time between Boston and the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G-League affiliate
Additionally, Mazzulla is excited to work with the Nazareth University alumnus.
“Any time you get to add like high-character, high-level, professional people, I think it’s a no-brainer and so fortunate enough that he’s here, not just for the coaching staff, but for everybody,” Mazzulla told reporters before practice Saturday.
“We try to run a lot of stuff by him,” Mazzulla said of Jeff Van Gundy. “It’s good to get a guy who hasn’t been here before who can have an unbiased opinion as to where he thinks things are and where they need to go.
Oshae Brissett said he’s seen Jeff Van Gundy at #celtics practice: “Dropping some words of wisdom, he’s been around the game a very long time.”
Full: https://t.co/wG808uD4uU
⚡️ @FDSportsbook @_OddsR @factormeals pic.twitter.com/muB89tugiU— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) October 14, 2023
“He’s kind of like [a] fresh set of eyes because he’s not around all the time and he’s looking at it from an unbiased position, which gives us an advantage because he can kind of see it in a different perspective.”
Furthermore, Van Gundy served as an international coach for Team USA in recent years, including head coach during the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup Tournament and assistant coach for US Men’s Basketball in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Van Gundy worked close with Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the 2019 FIBA World Cup team.
As an assistant coach for the Knicks, he worked under head coaches Stu Jackson (1989-90), John MacLeod (1990-91), Pat Riley (1991-95), and Don Nelson (1995-96).
