He is the older brother of former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy.

Van Gundy was a starting guard at Alhambra High School in Martinez, California in the San Francisco Bay Area.

During his four-season tenure at the school, which saw the institution become the University of Massachusetts Lowell, he compiled a record of 54–60 and coached Leo Parent, whom Van Gundy called "the best Division 2 player in the nation.

[3] When Jackson left after 2 years to become general manager of the expansion NBA Vancouver franchise, Van Gundy was promoted to replace him as head coach and given a 5-year contract.

Coming off an 18–11 season with future NBA star Michael Finley back for his senior year and highly touted recruits coming in, the team went into the season with high expectations, but ended with a disappointing 13–14 record (7–11 and ninth place in the Big 10).

[8] The team would go on to hire Dick Bennett from the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and he finished his first year with a 17–15 record and NIT appearance despite losing Finley and other key players.

He led them to a 42-win season, in which they won a very high percentage of their late season games and surprised many by advancing to the second round of the 2004 NBA playoffs, nearly defeating the team with the league's best record, the Indiana Pacers, with Van Gundy's dynamic coaching showcasing the strong play of rookie Dwyane Wade.

During the off-season, Shaquille O'Neal demanded a trade and made Miami the only viable option for the Lakers to make a transaction with.

Riley gave up Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and a future first-round draft choice, replacing three of the team's starters, including an Olympian, with O'Neal.

[10] Van Gundy would resign from his position as head coach on December 12, 2005, just 21 games into the season, citing a need to spend more time with his family.

"[11] Though at the time of his resignation Van Gundy asserted he was not being forced out by Riley, he has more recently declined comment on the situation after he accepted a coaching job with the Orlando Magic less than two years later.

In May 2007, Van Gundy received an offer to replace the fired Rick Carlisle as head coach of the Indiana Pacers.

Orlando defeated the Toronto Raptors 4–1 in the first round of the playoffs, advancing to the Eastern Semifinals for the first time in twelve seasons.

Van Gundy and the Magic won 59 games in 2008–09, the second most in franchise history, along with a second consecutive division championship finished at third place behind Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

[2] On February 9, 2015, Van Gundy became the 43rd coach in NBA history to win 400 games when the Pistons defeated the Atlanta Hawks 105–95.

On May 7, 2018, the Pistons announced that Van Gundy was released from his duties as head coach and president of basketball operations.

[19] On October 22, 2020, Van Gundy was hired as the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, replacing Alvin Gentry.

He returned to being an analyst in September 2018, working with ESPN (SVG Wednesday on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz).