STAN Van Gundy has spoken out about his wife’s “unexpected” and “devastating” death.
Kim Van Gundy died in August 2023, and the former NBA coach and TNT analyst revealed that she died by suicide.
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“She took her own life, Dan,” Van Gundy told Dan Le Batard on the South Beach Sessions podcast.
“I can’t imagine I’ll ever get over this. It was devastating.”
Stan and Kim met when he was 24 and were married for over 30 years.
“My entire adult life, I tracked everything — job changes, kids, everything — I was with her and she was by my side,” Van Gundy said.
“I never, ever imagined I would live a day of my life without Kim.”
Van Gundy also revealed that Kim was struggling with mental illness towards the end of her life.
“I knew she was going through a difficult time, but I never imagined this would happen,” Van Gundy said.
“Even now, it’s been eight months and I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact that I’ll never see her again.
“My house is full of pictures of Kim. There’s a montage of pictures of Kim above my bed that my kids made for me of Kim. I’m trying hard to remember her voice, remember her smile, all that stuff.
“But more than anything, live her values, because her values were better than mine.”
Van Gundy said his goal is to make his late wife proud as he continues his sports career.
“She taught me a lot,” Van Gundy said.
“And I want to live her values and a life she would be proud of. And my kids sometimes in the last eight months, sometimes, not often, but I genuinely think from their point of view, I’ll do something and they’ll say, ‘Mommy would have been so proud of you for that.’
“And that, most of all, really makes me feel good, because my wife was an amazing person and the loss is huge.”
Van Gundy shared that he is in therapy after the loss of his wife, but that life will never be the same without her.
NBA Western Conference Playoffs
First round
Oklahoma City Thunder (1) 4-0 New Orleans Pelicans (8)
Los Angeles Clippers (4) 2-4 Dallas Mavericks (5)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) 4-0 Phoenix Suns (6)
Denver Nuggets (2) 4-1 Los Angeles Lakers (7)
Conference Semifinals
Oklahoma City Thunder (1) 2-4 Dallas Mavericks (5)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) 4-3 Denver Nuggets (2)
Conference Finals
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) x Dallas Mavericks (5)
He revealed that his four children are helping him keep things together during his grief.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over this,” Van Gundy said.
Van Gundy met Kim shortly after he was hired as the basketball coach at Castleton State College.
Kim stayed with Van Gundy as he bounced between college coaching jobs until he landed the assistant coaching position at the Miami Heat in 1995.
He was promoted to coach of the team in 2003 and spent time in Orlando, Detroit and New Orleans.
![CLEVELAND, OH – MARCH 5: Stan Van Gundy of the Detroit Pistons yells to his players during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to […]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/05/user-expressly-acknowledges-agrees-downloading-904627276_803dee.jpg)
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