The New Orleans Pelicans hire Stan Van Gundy as their new head coach.

Two years after stepping down as the Detroit Pistons’ head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy is back in the NBA.

Van Gundy has agreed to become the next head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, he confirmed Wednesday.

As New Orleans’ front office navigated the coaching search, Van Gundy’s reputation as a teacher of the game in his 11-plus seasons as an NBA head coach stood out — teaching that will become key as New Orleans attempts to make the leap with a young roster.

Van Gundy’s teams also have always stood out on the defensive end. In the 11 seasons, he finished as a head coach, Van Gundy’s teams were in the top half in the NBA in defensive rating 10 times — including his last three seasons in Detroit. His teams finished top 10 in defensive rating eight of those seasons.

Stan Van Gundy inherits a Pelicans squad that underachieved during the NBA restart.

However, the future looks bright.

That core features last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Zion Williamson, and last season’s Most Improved Player, Brandon Ingram. It also includes 2019 lottery pick Jaxson Hayes and the 2019 No. 17 pick, Nickeil Alexander-Walker. New Orleans could opt to extend guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart once the league year starts; both of them took steps forward in their development last season.