Jeff Van Gundy’s nightmare year went well beyond ESPN firing

The Boston Celtics were Jeff Van Gundy’s lifeline.

Van Gundy detailed what has been a very painful time in his life after he was fired by ESPN following 16 years as the network’s top NBA game analyst.

The former Knicks coach, who was added to the Celtics staff in October, was dealing with personal tragedies on top of losing his job.

“I got fired from ESPN on June 30, and then my youngest son went to school in August so we became empty nesters,” Van Gundy said on “The Mark Jackson Show” with his former broadcast partner Mark Jackson and son Mark Jackson Jr.

“Then my sister-in-law tragically passed away in the middle of August as well. Then, my best friend in Houston contracted cancer, and he died this spring.”

Jeff’s brother, Stan, recently revealed that his wife committed suicide in August.

That time in Van Gundy’s life was unparalleled to anything he had experienced before.

“I was really in an awkward place in life, not really knowing where I was going or what my purpose was, or how I’d be with this new group of people where I didn’t know anyone,” said Van Gundy, who was part of a massive wave of layoffs at ESPN.

Since October, he has been an integral part of this season’s Celtics team, attending nearly every practice and shootaround with the title of a senior consultant.

“It’s been one of the most rejuvenating things I’ve ever gone through. Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla threw me a lifeline,” he said.

The 62-year-old has been rumored to potentially replace the Celtics’ top assistant coach, Charles Lee, next season.

According to Marc Stein on his Substack, there is also a chance he will end up with Ty Lue and the Clippers. 

Van Gundy previously spent 11 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Knicks and Rockets.

In that timeframe, he put together a 430-318 record.

Celtics president Brad Stevens praised Van Gundy’s contributions in an interview back in April.

“Jeff’s been great,” Stevens said. “And it’s all the way through that coaching staff. They’ve been terrific. Jeff, in his consultant role, our six player enhancement coaches have been amazing with our ‘stay ready’ group.”

Van Gundy said he’ll “forever be appreciative” of what Stevens and Mazzulla did for him.

The Celtics are up 3-1 in the NBA Finals against the Mavericks and will look to clinch a championship on Monday night in Boston.

They have rolled through the playoffs with three losses in the four series thus far after a 64-18 regular season.  

Van Gundy said he believes the success the organization sees on the floor all starts from behind the scenes.

“The whole organization from ownership to Brad’s staff to the coaching staff has just been remarkable. I think you can never have better team chemistry than you have coaching staff chemistry,” Van Gundy said. 

“Joe is such a good coach and a good leader but what he’s done so very well is assemble a group of coaches that care about the results more than the credit. They have great chemistry together.”