Shaquille O’Neal has had his fair share of beef with several NBA players, including his teammates. However, it has never proven to be an obstacle on his path to greatness. The 4x NBA champion is considered to be one of the greatest NBA players to have ever played the game, a claim that very few would consider disputing. Despite having a bitter history with Shaq, a former head coach too didn’t refrain from commending the Los Angeles Lakers legend for his contribution to the sport and its players.

Ever since the NBA was established, fans have witnessed thousands of aspiring players attempting to make a mark with their skill sets. However, very few were able to achieve that goal and according to a particular NBA coach, Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James could very well be considered among the select few.

Shaquille O’Neal’s generosity gains his ex-coach’s respect

Shaquille O’Neal and former Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy have not been the best of friends and that hasn’t changed much. However, despite the beef between them, Van Gundy recently showed his respect and admiration for the Big Aristotle. The 63-year-old veteran coach appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast ‘The Players’ Tribune’ where he had an extensive chat about the different generations of the NBA.

When asked about the best basketball era, Van Gundy had quite an interesting answer to give. He believed every era is different and that players have been gradually improving with every passing year. Therefore, he stated that the athletes of this generation are currently the best.

However, he also explained, “But here’s the thing I think that players now have to realize. Yes, you’re better now, you know why? Because everybody builds on the generation ahead of them. And without these guys, that played before you, you wouldn’t be here. You didn’t invent the d*mn game, you just improved on it.”

Furthermore, he added, “I will say this. I think Shaq has been one of the best at this. Like, if you remember right, who paid for George Mikan’s funeral? Shaq did. You know Shaq did. Like, that’s respecting a guy. Shaq never saw him play but that’s respect for people. LeBron’s done a good job at that. But you got to respect everybody.”

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What went wrong between Shaq and Gundy?

It was around March 2009 and Shaq had moved on to the Phoenix Suns after playing for the Miami Heat for four seasons. Whereas, Van Gundy had become the Orlando Magic’s head coach. Following a face-off between the Suns and the Magic, Van Gundy called Shaq out for flopping Dwight Howard, a comment that was not well-received by Shaq.

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In response, the 15x NBA All-Star fired back by saying, “Flopping to me is doing it more than one time. I realized that the play reminded me of his whole coaching career.”

Well, if Van Gundy’s recent comments are anything to go by then it seems that the animosity between the two have gradually reduced with time.