Jeff Van Gundy, the former NBA coach turned long-time broadcaster, is now a special consultant to the Boston Celtics.
Fans first noticed Van Gundy’s name listed as a special consultant to the Celtics and the team has confirmed it (Brian Robb of MassLive.com. was first).
Joe Mazzulla on Celtics adding Jeff Van Gundy as consultant. “Awesome. 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.”
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) October 14, 2023
Van Gundy’s role is as an advisor to Boston’s basketball operations, and will work with the Celtics and their G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, according to the report.
Van Gundy, 61, coached Patrick Ewing era New York Knicks from 1995-2001, with the team reaching the NBA Finals in 1999. He then went on to coach the Houston Rockets from 2003-07. After that, he went into broadcasting and, for many years, was part of the ABC/ESPN lead broadcast team with Mark Jackson and play-by-play man Mike Breen. After the 2023 NBA Finals, both Van Gundy and Jackson were let go by ABC/ESPN.
Van Gundy has still been coaching, he coached the USA Basketball team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup, as well as the squads which represented the USA in World Cup qualifying (those games were during the NBA season so the team was made up of G-League and a few international players who could get leave from their teams).