After 16 years as a top NBA analyst for ESPN, Jeff Van Gundy has been laid off as part of a reduction of 20 on-air personalities at the World Wide Leader.
Van Gundy joined ESPN as an NBA analyst in 2007 after the Houston Rockets fired him as its head coach that same year. He regularly called NBA games for ESPN and ABC, including playoffs and Finals games, and contributed to NBA Draft coverage.
The commentating trio of Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and play-by-play man Mike Breen will no longer form ESPN “A team” NBA broadcast crew. This recent NBA Playoffs on ESPN was the network’s most-watched playoffs since 2019, with 6.39 million average game viewers.
“Jeff Van Gundy is a stunner. He was making millions,” a source told Front Office Sports. “He and [Mike] Breen are the most watchable on ESPN’s NBA coverage.”
Van Gundy was head coach of the New York Knicks from 1996-2001, making the playoffs five times, including losing the 1999 NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs. Van Gundy later was head coach of the Rockets for four seasons from 2003 to 2007.
Van Gundy’s older brother Stan Van Gundy, also a former NBA coach, is an NBA commentator for TNT. ESPN and TNT’s current NBA broadcast rights deals run for two more seasons through the end of the 2024-25 season.
