| Jeff Van Gundy | |
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Jeff Van Gundy (right) was the coach for the Rockets from 2003 to 2007. |
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| Born | Jeffrey William Van Gundy January 19, 1962 Hemet, California |
Jeffrey William "Jeff" Van Gundy[1] (born January 19, 1962) is a former American basketball head coach. He coached most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. Van Gundy attended Yale University before transferring to Menlo College and ultimately graduated from New York's Nazareth College in 1985.
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Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California. He grew up in the town of Brockport N.Y. He was the son of a basketball coach, Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at Brockport State University in Western New York. His older brother Stan Van Gundy is the current head coach of the NBA's Orlando Magic.
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 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, Jeff Van Gundy became assistant coach for the New York Knicks. The next six-and-a-half seasons were spent providing support to Knicks 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 in every year. The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and the NBA Finals versus the Houston Rockets in 1994.[2]
Van Gundy was the head coach of the New York Knicks from March 8, 1996 until his resignation on December 8, 2001. He led the team to the playoffs six times, including their Cinderella run to the 1999 NBA Finals. At the time of his resignation the Knicks had a winning record; under his successor Don Chaney the team collapsed, losing 43 of their remaining 63 games, and failed to make the playoffs.
Van Gundy was hired as head coach of the Houston Rockets in 2003. On May 18, 2007, Van Gundy was fired from that position after the team's seven-game, first-round playoff loss to the Utah Jazz. Later that night, Van Gundy was a guest analyst for ESPN's broadcast of the Phoenix Suns-San Antonio Spurs game in San Antonio, Texas and has since helped cover the playoffs for ESPN in the broadcast booth.[3]
On May 12, 2009, on ESPN writer Bill Simmons' podcast, Van Gundy expressed his desire to eventually return to coaching, stating he would consider being an assistant coach.
| Legend | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L% | Win-loss % | |
| Post season | PG | Games coached | PW | Games won | PL | Games lost | PW–L% | Win-loss % | |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYK | 1995–96 | 23 | 13 | 10 | .565 | 2nd in Atlantic | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
| NYK | 1996–97 | 82 | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2nd in Atlantic | 10 | 6 | 4 | .600 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
| NYK | 1997–98 | 82 | 43 | 39 | .524 | 2nd in Atlantic | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
| NYK | 1998–99 | 50 | 27 | 23 | .540 | 4th in Atlantic | 20 | 12 | 8 | .600 | Lost in NBA Finals |
| NYK | 1999–00 | 82 | 50 | 32 | .610 | 2nd in Atlantic | 16 | 9 | 7 | .563 | Lost in Conf. Finals |
| NYK | 2000–01 | 82 | 48 | 34 | .585 | 3rd in Atlantic | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | Lost in First Round |
| NYK | 2001–02 | 19 | 10 | 9 | .526 | (resigned) | — | — | — | — | — |
| HOU | 2003–04 | 82 | 45 | 37 | .540 | 5th in Midwest | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Lost in First Round |
| HOU | 2004–05 | 82 | 51 | 31 | .610 | 3rd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in First Round |
| HOU | 2005–06 | 82 | 34 | 48 | .415 | 5th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| HOU | 2006–07 | 82 | 52 | 30 | .634 | 3rd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in First Round |
| Career | 748 | 430 | 318 | .575 | 88 | 44 | 44 | .500 |
Van Gundy created a memorable scene in the 1998 NBA Playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. When the Heat's 6'10", 240-pound center Alonzo Mourning[4] and the Knicks' 6'6", 250-pound forward Larry Johnson[5] engaged in a violent, bench-clearing brawl, Van Gundy unsuccessfully tried to break the fight up. Most memorably, the 5'9", 150-pound Van Gundy[6] fell to the floor and clung to Mourning's leg.[7]
In a 2001 game between the Spurs and Knicks, Danny Ferry elbowed Marcus Camby. While talking to the referee, Camby lost control and tried to punch Ferry. He missed and hit Van Gundy instead.[8]
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 for causing the referees' alleged bias. This is the largest fine handed down to a coach in NBA history.[9]
Jeff Van Gundy is an executive board member of Pro-Vision, a non-profit organization in Houston that provides educational, job-training, and mentoring services to boys aged 10-18.
On May 8, 2011, Van Gundy received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from his alma mater, Nazareth College during the colleges 84th Annual Commencement Ceremony.[10]
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