1) His underrated coaching career.
In his 11 seasons in the league, his team made the playoffs nine times. His overall record was 430-318 (.574) and in the 1998 playoffs, led the young, 8th-seeded New York Knicks to the NBA Finals - the first 8th-seeded team to ever reach the Finals. His coaching career ended after the Rockets lost a seven-game series to the Utah Jazz in the 2006-07 season in the first round.
2) His fearlessness despite his small stature.
As a coach, he had a couple of on the court blunders that resulted in classic sports bloopers. First, as head coach of the Knicks in 2001, Van Gundy tried to stop Marcus Camby from swinging on a Spurs player. I guess JVG though that he could stop the near-seven-footer from making a bonehead mistake that would result in a suspension, but all that happened was Camby head-butting his own coach mid-swing resulting in 12-15 stitches for Jeff.
Before that, in 1993, the 5'9", 160ish-lb wannabe peacemaker threw himself into the middle of a skirmish between two of the leagues biggest players - Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson. After that did not workout initially, JVG decided to just wade it out on Alonzo Mourning's leg. The result of the incident gives us this beautiful picture:
3) His "just another guy" personality as a commentator.
Listening to Jeff Van Gundy commentate basketball is like watching watching it over a couple beers with a friend. In last night's Game 4 broadcast, during what I believe was a timeout, his fellow commentator Mike Breen read an advertisement for a new show on ABC called "Battle Bots". JVG then asked Breen,"What is that? Some sort of game show?" After being exposed, Breen simply replied, "I have no idea." Most fans probably know what the show is because we have all been forced to watch the commercials throughout the series but these two didn't. This exchange made me laugh a little bit too hard at home and really made me appreciate Van Gundy and Breen as normal guys that every sports fan can relate to.
4) His random observations as a commentator.
Also amid last night's Game 4, just after halftime, ESPN gave us an inside look at the Cavalier's locker room for a relatively inspiring halftime speech by Cavaliers' coach David Blatt. When the clip was over and the broadcast returned to the court action, Van Gundy was asked for a response to the monologue. Noticing the abundance of bananas and other fruits behind Blatt, Van Gundy said, "I just can't believe how much food they have in that locker room!"
5) His mocking of his brother Stan as a commentator.
The coaching brothers are widely known across the NBA for being very outspoken and, well, feisty. During his announcing career, Jeff has had many opportunities to cover games in which his brother was coaching. A few years ago, when Stan was with the Magic, Jeff was talking with his fellow commentators about the job Stan has done in Orlando. Jeff's only response was, "You'd think he could find a suit that fit him. He's way too big for that thing, he looks so uncomfortable." Stan, now with the Pistons, is obviously a bit on the hefty side of the size spectrum and Jeff made sure to take a jab at his weight while he had the chance. Jeff always takes shots at his brother on live TV and it is hilarious to listen to. Brotherly love is forever, I guess.
6) His criticism and opinions.
After Draymond Green needed help fixing one of his contacts in Game 4, he was forced to come out of the game by rule. Earlier in the game, LeBron James hit his head on a camera lens which resulted in a good deal of blood and a delay of about 3 or four minutes before the bleeding stopped and James continued to play. Van Gundy took a jab at the special treatment James received by saying "If you're bleeding you get all the time you need to return to the game, but if you have a contact lens issue you have to sit." This was nothing from the extremely critical JVG. He is not afraid to tell it like it is and often speaks out on a variety issues, recently involving review delays, hack-a-Shaq strategies, along with many other topics.
7) His values
After being fired by the Rockets, Van Gundy told the media he is looking forward to more time with his family. He told the media, "My one goal in life is to be the greatest carpool driver of all-time." With his job at ESPN, JVG has much more time to spend with family than he did when he was coaching, something that will always be more important to him than winning basketball games.
Van Gundy is not afraid to speak his mind and throw himself into the fire of controversy and that's why I love him. He is often spot-on with everything he says and does, and is extremely entertaining to listen to; that is why he is my favorite ESPN personality.
Also his rarely used Twitter account is worth a follow: @Notorious_J_v_G
(So is ours)
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