Happy Birthday Jeff Van Gundy: Top 5 JVG moments
ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy turned 54 on Tuesday.
The New York native coached his hometown Knicks from 1996 to 2001 and the Houston Rockets from 2003 to 2007 - a period in which he achieved a regular-season winning percentage of .575 (430-318) and .500 in the postseason (44-44).
Van Gundy missed the playoffs only once in his 11-year head coaching career, and led the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals versus the San Antonio Spurs.
His tenure in "The Big Apple" was a successful stretch in which his Knicks teams - led by franchise legend Patrick Ewing - were known as tough, gritty competitors with a penchant for getting under their opponents' skin.
His Rockets teams, however, provided a more aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball, with the flash of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley (during Van Gundy's first year in Houston) followed by squads featuring Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, bolstered by respected veterans Dikembe Mutombo, Shane Battier, and Juwan Howard.
Throughout his coaching and broadcasting career, Van Gundy has never failed to entertain the masses, whether with his opinionated stances on virtually every issue under the sun, or the odd Alonzo Mourning leg-ride.
Here are five memorable JVG moments:
"Stop putting the Supersonics with the Oklahoma City Thunder!"
Van Gundy almost has a conniption when broadcast partner Mike Breen draws a parallel between the Seattle Supersonics and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder (formerly the Sonics) relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 after being purchased by owner Clay Bennett.
Van Gundy took exception to Breen - and everyone else, apparently - considering the two franchises one and the same.
Flagrant foul ... on the ref
Referee Hue Hollins accidentally hit Van Gundy while the coach was patrolling the sidelines. Hollins then exacerbated the damage by blowing the whistle loudly in Van Gundy's vicinity, forcing him to crumble to the floor.
Fuming about flopping
Ask and thou shalt receive.
During a Knicks-Heat game late in the 2011-12 regular season, a frustrated Van Gundy lobbied the league office to penalize players for flopping.
The following season, the NBA instituted its anti-flopping policy.
A match made in heaven
Perhaps the most compatible running mate Van Gundy has ever had is Mark Jackson - Van Gundy's former player with the Knicks and current ESPN broadcast partner.
The duo has provided basketball fans with enough hilarious sound bytes to last a lifetime.
Along for the ride
The classic Eastern Conference rivalry between the Heat and Van Gundy's Knicks in the late 1990s culminated in a now-infamous brawl between the two teams.
Former teammates Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson went at each other, as both benches poured onto the court.
Poor Van Gundy - who stands 5-foot-9 - was rendered helpless in the crowd of giants.
Kudos to JVG for finding humor in the incident in retrospect.