Shaquille O’Neal now hates former coach Stan Van Gundy

March 6, 2009

It looks like Shaq found himself a new guy to feud with.

And in case you didn’t get that, Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy is having some sort of feud with former player Shaquille O’Neal at this point of the 2009 NBA basketball season.

You see, Shaquille O’Neal was in the middle of a three-game stretch that will pit him with the three teams he played with before. He was scheduled to play the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat this week and while the Lakers and the Heat gave Shaq that warm fuzzy feeling inside, his trip to Orlando was anything but.

Yes, Shaq was at the Amway Arena to face the very team that drafted him to the NBA almost two decades ago, the Orlando Magic. And while Shaq couldn’t able to lead the Phoenix Suns to victory, losing to the Magic 111-99, the battle has only begun as far as Shaq and his former coach from Miami, Stan Van Gundy is concerned.

It all started when Shaq tried to draw a charge from Orlando Magic center (and the Magic Kingdom’s new Superman…) Dwight Howard. And since Shaq, throughout his career in the NBA, has been heavily against flopping (he had enough of it when he was still trading elbows with Vlade Divac during those memorable Lakers – Kings playoff wars…) Van Gundy was surprised to see Shaq flop.

His comments, however, fueled the war.

‘’I was shocked, seriously shocked,’’ Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said, ‘’and very disappointed because he knows what it’s like. Let’s stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight.’’

Yep, Van Gundy actually sort of questioned the seven-footer’s manhood. Of course, Shaq wasn’t pleased with what his former mentor from Miami had to say about his family jewels.

‘’I heard his comment. Flopping to me is doing it more than one time, and I realized when I tried to take the charge, as I went down, I realized that that play reminded me of his whole coaching career,’’ O’Neal said of Van Gundy.

‘’And one thing I really despise is a front-runner, so I know for a fact that he’s a master of panic, and when it gets time for his team to go in the postseason and do certain things, he will let them down because of his panic. I’ve been there before, I’ve played for him.’’

Still, Shaq still insists he wasn’t flopping. After all, being likened to Vlade Divac is the last thing Shaq would want at this point of his career.

‘’Flopping is playing like that your whole career. I was trying to take the charge, trying to get a call. It probably was a flop, but flopping is the wrong use of words. Flopping would describe his coaching,’’ O’Neal said, steering the conversation back to Van Gundy. ‘’I’m not going to just sit abound and let nobodies take shots at me, and he is a nobody to me. And if he thinks he can get in a little press conference and take shots at me like I’m not going to [give] something back, he’s got another thing coming.’’

‘’Flopping is falling and crying and complaining to the ref. I tried to take a charge. The rules say when a guy comes into your chest and you fall, that’s an offensive foul, and that’s all I tried to do. I fell, didn’t complain, he made a great move, spun and dunked it,’’ O’Neal said referring to Dwight Howard, ‘’but flopping is the wrong choice of words.’’

‘’So that’s all I’ve got to say about that, but again, I despise frontrunners, I despise them. And that’s what he (Van Gundy) is to me.’’

I reckon Shaq, five years from now, will deny ever hating on Van Gundy. That’s what he did with Kobe Bryant a few weeks ago anyway before teaming up with his former teammate for the All-Star game.

Who will win the 2009 NBA Finals? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Boston Celtics 4.00

Los Angeles Lakers 4.50

Detroit Pistons 9.00

San Antonio Spurs 9.00

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Shaquille O’Neal Stan Van Gundy

Posted by Jeff under News & Updates.