“The one coaching memory I have of Jeff Van Gundy is in a fight holding the leg of a player at the bottom of a scrum” – NBA analyst throws shade at Jeff Van Gundy for his remark on Warriors altercation
As the regular season gets ready to begin, the Golden State Warriors are still the biggest topic of conversation in the NBA. Fresh off winning the title last season, they now have to begin their reign as defending champs with a dark cloud hanging over them.
Following the physical altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, many wonder how the team is going to pull themselves together in the coming days. Some feel the two will never be able to bounce back from this, while others think it could blow over quickly.
During a recent episode of "The Colin Cowherd Podcast," FS1's Colin Cowherd touched on the topic. Jeff Van Gundy recently commented that these things don't happen often. Cowherd brought up a memory of the former coach:
"Jeff Van Gundy came out and said it just doesn't happen very often. And the irony of Jeff Van Gundy saying it is quite interesting.
"The one coaching memory I have of Jeff Van Gundy is in a fight holding the leg of a player at the bottom of a scrum. This stuff never happens. Jeff, that's the only thing I ever remember about you."
Do things like what happened at Warriors practice happen more than we think?
For someone who has been in and around the game for so long, it's shocking that Jeff Van Gundy made that comment. While it might not always be to the degree of what happened at the Warriors practice, it's fair to assume incidents like this do happen.
The NBA has the highest level of competition in basketball, and consists of some of the world's top athletes. Given how driven and competitive all these guys are, it's likely that emotions sometimes get the best of people.
One person who knows about scrums like this all too well is Golden State coach Steve Kerr. Along with weathering the storm for his team now, he was part of arguably the most notable practice fight in NBA history.
Michael Jordan is one of the most competitive players to ever steep foot on an NBA court. Similar to Draymond Green, he lost his temper during a Chicago Bulls practice and got into a physical altercation with Kerr. The two were able to work through what happened and even gained a newfound respect for each other.
If a successful dynasty like Jordan's Bulls could get through a rough patch like that, the Warriors should be able to overcome theirs too.