Legendary NBA coach and former ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy won a long-awaited championship as an advisor with the Boston Celtics this season.
Van Gundy had come close to a ring before, as he led the New York Knicks to the 1999 Finals, where they ultimately lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
For a moment this postseason, it appeared the Celtics and Knicks might face off in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics breezed through the first two rounds, while an injury-riddled Knicks team ultimately fell to the Indiana Pacers in seven games in the second round of the playoffs.
While speaking to ESPN's Zach Lowe on "The Lowe Post" podcast, Van Gundy said he had mentally prepared for the possibility that the Knicks and Celtics would play, noting that there would be some conflicting emotions.
"I certainly wanted [the Knicks] to win because everybody knows that Tom [Thibodeau] and I worked together forever. But [Knicks assistant coach] Andy Greer has been one of my very best friends — he's on Tom's staff — since college, we played together in college," Van Gundy said. "So there's deep connection there.
"I'll always be appreciative to the Knicks. They gave me an opportunity before I ever deserved one. Stu Jackson, Pat Riley, Don Nelson, John MacCleod, all four of those men kept me there until I got my chance to be a head coach. So when you're running through all of these people that you owe so much to, players included ... you sort of have these moments like, 'Man, I owe the Knicks so, so much, but if they walk in here, I'm going to want to win! We're going to want to win.' So yeah, I was preparing myself for that."
Van Gundy said the he had purposely missed the Knicks-Celtics regular season games, though he would have been in attendance for a playoff series. Van Gundy recently praised the Knicks, saying they will be a "handful" next season.
However, if the two teams had squared off, battle lines would have been drawn. Van Gundy told Lowe there was "no way" he would have gotten dinner or spoke on the phone with Thibodeau in between games.
"He wouldn't have wanted to see me, I wouldn't have wanted to see him," Van Gundy said.
Van Gundy is moving on to become an assistant coach with the LA Clippers next season.
Meanwhile, the Knicks hope for a shot at the Celtics next season. Knicks star Julius Randle recently said the Knicks are hoping to take down the Celtics.
Of course, the Knicks have several orders of business, including re-signing key free agents, before they can take aim at the reigning champs.
