Shaquille O’Neal Was Provoked to “Play Like a Man” By Legendary Miami Heat Coach Who Groomed a Young Dwight Howard

Former Miami Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy decided to turn up the heat in his already public rift with Shaquille O’Neal by calling out his flopping. Van Gundy not only criticized Shaq’s flopping against Orlando but also advised him to play like a man.

Shaquille O’Neal didn’t take the accusation lightly and responded to Van Gundy’s statement with all guns blazing. He called out his former coach for his lack of accolades and his inability to remain composed during clutch situations in the postseason.

As a result, the former coach-player duo reignited their previous rift in a very public manner. However, Van Gundy didn’t say anything significant to fuel the feud after his initial statement. Shaq mostly dominated the back and forth between the two.

Van Gundy tells Shaq to play like a man

After his stint in Miami, Shaquille O’Neal started playing for the Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, Van Gundy had been serving as the head coach of the Orlando Magic after stepping down from the head coaching position in Miami.

In a Magic vs Suns matchup, Shaq tried to flop against Dwight Howard while the latter was going for a dunk in the paint. Van Gundy didn’t like the play at all. Afterward, he called out Shaq for his flopping.

“I was shocked, seriously shocked and very disappointed because he knows what it’s like“, said Van Gundy, “Let’s stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight.”

Shaq retaliated by calling Van Gundy’s entire career a flop. “Flopping to me is doing it more than one time“, he said, “I realized that the play reminded me of his whole coaching career“.

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The 4-time NBA champion also called out Van Gundy for his lack of composure during the playoffs, “I know for a fact that he’s a master of panic“.

“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“, he added.

Shaq and Van Gundy’s rift in Miami

After Shaq arrived in Miami, many thought that he would be reluctant to take orders from a rookie coach. Therefore, Van Gundy stepping down from coaching duties in 2005 after Miami lost the Conference finals against the Pistons surprised nobody.

The media and the fans ascribed the maneuver to Pat Riley. Moreover, Shaq denied his involvement in the situation in his book later.

But the situation surely drove a wedge between Shaq and Van Gundy. And the flopping comments further accentuated the chasm between the two.

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What do you think of the rift? Comment below.