Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 9:00 am  |  126 responses

Shaq’s Hit List Grows: Stan Van Gundy, Come on Down!

by Marcel Mutoni

During his 16-year career, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Shaquille O’Neal, it’s that in the blink of an eye, he can turn from the fun-loving goofball that everyone enjoys, into someone far more bitter and vicious.

The latter was on display last night prior to the matchup with Miami, as O’Neal reacted angrily to his former coach Stan Van Gundy’s wholly correct assessment that Shaq had turned into the Big Flopper when going up against Dwight Howard.

From the Arizona Republic:

“He (Dwight Howard) came with the same old, stale Patrick Ewing move so I tried to stand there and take the charge. The new rules say if you come through, you fall. But as I fell, I realized that it was a flop and it reminded me of Coach Van Gundy’s whole coaching career. The one thing I despise is a frontrunner. First of all, none of his players like him. When it gets tough, he will become the master of panic like he did before and he will quit like he did before.”

“Stan Van Gundy reminds me of a broke navigational system. He knows everything about everything but ain’t never been nowhere. When a bum says some (stuff) and I respond, you can (expletive) cancel that ’cause I know how he is in real life. We’ll see when the playoffs start and he (expletive) panics and quits like he did when he was here. Do I look soft to you like you can say something and I’m not going to say something?”

“I said this a long time ago but I was actually talking about him (Van Gundy). When the general panics, the troops will panic…All the players hate him.”

Lovely.

When reached by reporters, Van Gundy took the character assassination in stride, saying that’s just how Shaq is. I wonder how long O’Neal will wait until he tries to paint this as just another one of his “marketing” ploys.

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  • Tuomas

    By Shaq’s standards, Patrick now pretty much has a right to call him whatever he wants, no matter how unrelated it might be. However, somehow I doubt that he will. Joel, the best thing is that nothing really needs to be added to what Shaq has said himself. Just line them up and shake your head.

  • http://joeloholic.wordpress.com Joel O’s

    I also think he was a bit oversensitive about the flopping accusations, because he’s spent the past what, 15 seasons overpowering opponents and ridiculing their manhood as they futilely tried to draw charges against him… and all of a sudden, here’s this one play where the the current Man of Tomorrow jukes him with a spin move and HE flops. He’s insulted the manhood of essentially every big man he’s faced in his career (Erica Dampier, Vlade’s Sacto Queens, Mutombo… I could go on) and, coming off his recent Rupaul insult of Bosh’s softness, the mere MENTION of Shaq flopping probably seems like the entirety of all those insults have been thrown back at him in the mind of every fan, player and sportswriter out there. IMHO this is why he’s reacting so strongly.

  • http://slamonline WeezyLeezy

    ****Disrespect Shaq back in the day?!?!? Muff*cka was a 300 lbs ROOKIE! Mike Jordan(G.O.A.T.)was THE man, but dont get it twisted, Big Shaq Diesel most dominant alltime. PERIOD. Only Wilt could f*ck wit that. Flop or no flop. (No disrespect to B Russ and Kareem but rings AINT everything)****

  • http://slamonline WeezyLeezy

    TeddyBear, Dwight Howard is his DADDY now??? Really?! Im pretty sure this all started when “Superman Returns” was cryin about how Shaq wouldnt help him with his game, a week after he got SONNED by Nate “Kryptonite” Robinson suttin real HARDBODY

  • http://slamonline WeezyLeezy

    Flop or no flop

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    @ Weezy aka Lil’ Wayne sucks:
    Shaq sucks now compared to Dwight. Yes, Dwight is his daddy. Apparently Dwight is your daddy, too.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    LOL Shaq better than Russel and Kareem? Are you KIDDING?
    Do you people see what I mean when I say SHAQ IS OVERRATED?

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    In other words, co-sign tealish.

  • Young Chris MP3

    teddy bear is crazy

  • BBAller

    I have watched the NBA for 30 years now,sorry firstly this shaq debate is f’n boring, anyway like i said, i’ve watched the nba for a long,long time and the big man’s game is what intrigued me to begin with.You can say all you want with sentiment, but Shaq is the MDE. full stop. Wilt and russel were just athletic big men surrounded by 6ft 4 white guys. shaq would have put 150 on them.I don’t really like shaq but he was in the era of many dominant big men like Ewing,D Rob,Hakeem,TDuncan,Alonzo,Mutumbo and KG and in his peak, trashed all of them.You have to respect him not like him.Can we please talk about BBall and end this DOUL crap

  • BBAller

    Sorry i forgot to mention Divac,Sabonis,R.Smits and Camby, shaq who destroyed over the years.Can anyone say wilt or russell had more than 3 formiddable opponents during a season or career.Kareem Abdul jabba is the only one who would of posed a risk to shaq’s dominance.Please note i don’t like shaq but you have to give credit where credit is due.Just imagine shaq in the 60s and 70s….scarey.With that said i still think he is a big mouth and should not have flopped, but what do you all think?

  • Randy Brown

    Shaq is becoming the old guy who talks about how he can still play but all he does is grab people when they try and outrun him on the break

  • http://www.ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com Allenp

    chintao
    Layabouts? Homie, that is gangsta.

  • http://www.ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com Allenp

    Y’all cats must not realize that Wilt was an athletic freak, right? I mean, homie was an All American at high jump! He was slightly bigger than Tim Duncan and three times the athlete. And guess what, Tim Duncan gives Shaq fits on defense and has for years. You know why? Because Tim Duncan makes Shaq make shots, he boxes out on rebounds and he forces the refs to call all of Shaq’s B.S.

  • jose

    shaq is my fav player, but im kinda not feelin tha commemt

  • http://indianz.com R3Z

    T.W.I.S.M.
    The NBA its Shaqtastic!
    I love this game!

  • http://www.mckennamagic.blogspot,com D-Mac

    Shaq is like a master politician. He is dancing around the issue and creating so much diversion that no one remembers why he was called out in the first place

  • L33tSauce

    Why is the big(gest) baby talking? the “man” who crys and refuses to play just because he wants a new team is talking trash? Retire already. It’s not that your still good, Shaq, its that the NBA just doesn’t have good big men minus very few players, like Dwight Howard.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    @ BBaller: Are you kidding me? Uhhh, what about WILLIS REED, Jerry Lucas, Wes Unseld, Dave Debusschere, Artis Gilmore.
    And you say there weren’t dominant big men when Wilt and Russell played?
    The 80′s and 90′s were great for big men (whaddup Ewing!), but seriously, to say that Wilt and Russell never had any strong contemporaries is bull.

  • L33tSauce

    Not to add that with that argument you have to factor new things today, NBA trainers working guys harder, supplements going all around sports, better conditions for training and working out.

    Shaq may be top 5 in big men, but hell if he’s top 3.

  • http://www.lkz.ch Darksaber

    Chintao sure doesn’t like certain previous (and current) Lakers stars. Crippled? Really, man?

  • Joseph

    Hell hath no fury like a fat man’s scorn.

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  • larrylegend

    after getting hit so many times from other players over about 16 seasons (and mostly staying calm….don’t forget you,brad), it’s time for shaq, as long he’s in the active game, to give some back.
    go ahead diesel, we’ll miss you soon.

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