Stan Van Gundy

how in the hell did I get here?

Like, you know, I was a nondescript small college player.

I'm coaching at small college.

The hell?

I'm coaching in the NBA?

The moment where I really remember it, my first year as a head coach here, our seventh game of the year, and the reason I remember it was the seventh game is he took us to 0-7 at the start of my career.

We were in Houston, and

And what I remember the moment of lining up for the national anthem and looking down and seeing him on the other end and thinking like,

you gotta be kidding me.

And, and I, even at that point, even with the game coming up, I had to fight back the tears at that point of just thinking like, this is amazing.

I mean, I'd already had the tears when he first got named the head coach, his first home game, they beat the, I think it was his first home game.

I know it was his first home win.

They beat Jordan's bulls and the crowd in Madison square garden was,

chanting his name and i was watching on tv and i got the tears then but to be in the same game with him now i did think though he knew i was struggling i'm starting my career at oh and six he could have given us one he could have given us one if he really if he really gave a crap sit a couple guys out get me my first win and then go on about i mean he could have done that he didn't so there are limits to his love for me and i learned that at that moment

Yeah, and you remember those series and especially the one where

You know, everything happened with Alonzo.

And well, even before we had the fight where they had guys suspended for games, the only time we beat them in that rivalry because they didn't have guys for, you know, for game seven and the whole thing.

I mean, it was just, it was so fraught.

With emotion, that it was just better.

Because we're not going to see things the same way at that point.