At McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York, Van Gundy began his basketball coaching career. The following year, he became a graduate assistant at Providence College, helping the Providence Friars advance to the Final Four. In his second season with the Providence Friars, he was promoted to assistant coach and the next year joined Rutgers as an assitant coach.
On July 28, 1989, Jeff Van Gundy became assistant coach for the New York Knicks. The next six-and-a-half seasons would be spent providing support to Stu Jackson (1989-1990), John MacLeod (1990-1991) , Pat Riley (1991-1995) and Don Nelson (1995-1996). The Knicks never finished lower than third in the Atlantic Division, won three division titles, and qualified for the playoffs in every year of his tenure as an assistant coach. The Knicks would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and the NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Overall, Van Gundy led the Knicks to the playoffs six times, including an appearance in the 1999 NBA Finals.
Van Gundy was hired by the Houston Rockets in 2003 and served the team for four years. In 2007, Van Gundy was hired by ESPN to become a NBA analyst and cover the playoffs in the broadcast booth.
