Stan Van Gundy denied the rumor that Pat Riley pushed him out of Miami: "If I'm getting forced out, I would have gotten absolutely every dollar on my contract"

Stan Van Gundy received his first NBA break with the Miami Heat in 1995, when he joined the South Beach franchise as an assistant coach under Pat Riley. He spent the next eight seasons learning the ropes from him before getting promoted to head coach in 2003 after Riley decided to focus on the front office.

In his first season as head coach, the Heat clinched the fourth seed in the East with a 42-40 record. Making it to the semi-finals, Van Gundy had a star in the making in a young Dwyane Wade.

Heading into the 2004-05 season, the Heat acquired Shaquille O’Neal from the Lakers.

Now stronger than ever, with championship expectations on the shoulders, the Heat finished as the first seed in the East, posting a 59-23 record.

Storming into the playoffs, coach Van Gundy and crew swept the New Jersey Nets and the Washington Wizards, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

In what was a grueling seven-game series against the eventual champions, the Detroit Pistons.

Injuries to Wade and O’Neal were a key factor in Miami’s loss in their series.

Heading into the 2005-06 season, rumors had begun circulating that Riley wanted to replace Van Gundy on a title-contending team. Fueling the narrative further was SVG’s resignation 21 games into the season. Irrespective, Van Gundy denied any involvement on Riley’s part.

“If I’m getting forced out, I would have gotten absolutely every dollar on my contract and walked out the door. That’s not what happened here… Anybody who’s speculating otherwise has to do so in total disregard of the facts of the situation,” clarified SVG.

Van Gundy cited family reasons for his exit

The 82-game schedule can undoubtedly take a toll on anyone, especially with the travel involved. The hectic lifestyle eventually caught up to Van Gundy, who only got to see his family 49 out of the 170 days in the season. It reached a point from which there was no turning back, especially with Van Gundy wanting to spend more time with his young daughter.

Ultimately, SVG called it quits, with many questioning his timing, particularly after Riles expressed a desire to be more hands-on.

However, Van Gundy debunked any such theory.

“I mean, it’s been like that for my kids’ entire lives. I’ve got a 14-year-old daughter and it started to hit me when I started thinking about her birthday, which was last month. I’ve got four more years left with her. Four. And then she’ll be off to college and I’m just not willing to sacrifice any more of those four more years,” he highlighted.

Despite Van Gundy’s repeated clarifications, people refused to believe his story, which was surprising to him as well. He failed to understand what made his story so hard to believe.

The Shaq theory

The sudden exit of Van Gundy opened the floodgates to a lot of speculations, one of which involved O’Neal as well. The Heat coach-player duo had their fair share of run-ins on the court, with Shaq being vocal about his criticism of SVG, even addressing him as the “Master of panic.”

Nevertheless, O’Neal denied having any involvement in the firing of Van Gundy. In his book, Shaq Uncut: My Story, he broke his silence on the matter.

“Are you crazy? Did you really think I wanted to play for Pat Riley instead?” mentioned Shaq, suggesting that Riley was a much more of disciplinarian than Van Gundy was.

That said, one could hardly argue against Riley as his replacement, considering he delivered Miami a championship in the same year he took over.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Stan Van Gundy denied the rumor that Pat Riley pushed him out of Miami: “If I’m getting forced out, I would have gotten absolutely every dollar on my contract”

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