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Despite not coaching since 2007, Jeff Van Gundy was constantly in the rumor mill for plenty of open positions – all while he was a color commentator for ESPN.
Well, ESPN quietly laid off the former Knicks and Rockets head coach before this NBA season started, and his brother Stan, who is also a head coach turned analyst on TNT, says they did his brother dirty.
“He was hurt by it, I mean he worked for them for 17 years. And it wasn’t even just the fact that they made the move, I mean they s–t on him,” Stan said on “South Beach Sessions,” via “Awful Announcing.”
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ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy looks on prior to the game between the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on December 18, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The older Van Gundy said Jeff lost his job conveniently after the top coaching and front office positions this past offseason were all filled.
“The timing was awful. They waited until basically the NBA market in terms of coaching jobs, assistant jobs, front office jobs was already gone by to make the move,” Stan claims. “And then they delayed and delayed and delayed on a buyout that would free him to work for [other] people. I mean, after 17 years of being in arguably … the best game broadcast booth in the business in basketball, and being the kind of person he is, ESPN s–t on him.”
TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy looks on during the Sacramento Kings vs. New York Knicks game at Golden 1 Center. Sacramento, CA. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
At the time, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen said it was “hard to come to grips with” the fact that ESPN cut ties with both Van Gundy and Mark Jackson.
“It’s sad, because we really thought we had something special, and that’s going to be the thought going forward is that we were able to do it a lot longer than anybody ever did,” Breen said at the time, calling them both “dream partners.
“It’ssomething we’ll all treasure, but we just wish it was a little bit longer. “You don’t expect it, because it was such a great team. And to have it completely broken up was a surprise. . . .
“The other part of it is the personal part, and that’s tougher. Now, we’re going to be friends until the day we die.”
Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen talk during Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets on June 12, 2023, at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
ESPN’s main NBA broadcast team now consists of Breen, Doris Burke, and J.J. Redick, who replaced Doc Rivers after he surprisingly took the Milwaukee Bucks job following his extremely short stint in the booth.
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