Watching the NBA on ESPN won’t be the same this season without Jeff Van Gundy providing his comical, yet insightful commentary during television broadcasts, but that doesn’t mean basketball fans won’t still see the former Knicks and Rockets coach on the sidelines.
According to Brian Robb of MassWire, Van Gundy will be joining the Boston Celtics as a senior consultant for the 2023-24 season.
It adds a valued voice with 11 years of experience as an NBA head coach to Joe Mazzulla’s staff as they pursue another trip back to the NBA Finals.
Van Gundy’s duties will involve working on the basketball operations side of things, managing his time between Boston and Maine, the team’s G-League affiliate.
While he’s the newest addition, the Celtics have added several well-known basketball minds to the coaching staff this offseason, including Sam Cassell, and popular head coaching candidate Charles Lee.
For Van Gundy, it’s a role he’s somewhat familiar with, yet it comes after 16 years as an NBA broadcaster. He holds a career coaching record of 430-318 during the regular season. Van Gundy’s last season working in the NBA came in 2007, with Houston, yet he’s always remained involved in some capacity since, thanks to his broadcasting work.
The Celtics are coming off an impressive 57-win season that ended in disappointment after losing to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. Naturally, Boston hopes for a better result this season.
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