Stan Van Gundy

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.

And to be honest, we still don't talk about any of those games.

No, we'll talk about it generally in terms of...

The respect we have for people on both sides, like, you know, like when I saw Sprewell the other day and I know how much he meant to Jeff and the whole thing.

And then Jeff would obviously, when Tim Hardaway was working for me, he'd see Tim all the time.

I mean, there's great respect.

And so we would talk about that, but never getting back into the specifics of games and the whole thing.

Thank you.

And thank you for your friendship.

And I said to you before, you know, walking in, I haven't been in these studios and walking in and seeing this and my admiration for you and what you've done for so many other people where you could have relaxed, taken your money, either been in retirement or just worked for somebody else and made a good living.