| Detroit Free Press
More than two years after stepping down as the Detroit Pistons‘ head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy is back in the NBA.
The New Orleans Pelicans have hired Van Gundy as their new head coach. The hire comes two months after the Pelicans fired previous head coach Alvin Gentry in August.
“I’m excited to join a talented New Orleans Pelicans team,” Van Gundy tweeted Wednesday afternoon. “It will be an honor to work with our players and to work for Mrs. Benson and David Griffin, Trajan Langdon, their staff and the great people of New Orleans. I can’t wait to talk to our players and get the process started.”
Van Gundy was with the Pistons from 2014 until May 2018. His tenure was mixed, as he went 152-176 overall through four seasons and led the franchise to its first playoff appearance in seven years in 2016.
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He previously said the Pistons would be his final coaching stop, but later changed course. Van Gundy worked for TNT’s NBA broadcast as a color commentator last season, and has built a large Twitter following of over 120,000 since joining in July.
Van Gundy, 61, will coach a roster centered around Zion Williamson, the first pick of the 2019 draft.
ESPN was first to report the news.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa. Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.