According to Tim Reynolds and Brett Martel of The Associated Press on Wednesday, Stan Van Gundy of Indio, California has been named the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. This will be Van Gundy’s fourth National Basketball Association team he has coached, as he has previously been the bench boss for the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Detroit Pistons.
In 907 regular season games, Van Gundy has a record of 523 wins and 384 losses. Thrice he has had a record of 59 wins and 23 losses. The first time came with the Heat in 2004-05, and the second and third times with the Magic in 2008-09, and then again in 2009-10.
It was with the Magic in 2009 that Van Gundy guided Orlando to the NBA Finals. However, the Magic were no match for Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, as the Lakers won in five games rather easily. The series was known as the Disney Series due to the fact it was shown on the American Broadcasting Company (which is owned by Disney), and the fact that the Magic play in Orlando (host of Walt Disney World), and the Lakers play near Disneyland in Anaheim.
In New Orleans, Van Gundy will get to coach one of the game’s best up and coming rising stars in Zion Williamson. It will be interesting to see the chemistry between Van Gundy and Williamson. In the past, it has been reported that Van Gundy has had a tough time getting along with his team’s star players, including Shaquille O’Neal with the Heat and Dwight Howard with the Magic.
Van Gundy’s biggest test will be to improve the Pelicans defensively. In 2019-20, New Orleans gave up 117.1 points per game, the fourth worst in the NBA. Only the Minnesota Timberwolves (117.5 points), the Washington Wizards (119.1 points), and the Atlanta Hawks (119.7 points) gave up more points than the Pelicans.
Stan Van Gundy is also the brother of Jeff Van Gundy, the former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. Jeff Van Gundy is currently the lead basketball analyst for ABC/ESPN.
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