Shaquille O’Neal ‘called’ himself the ’48th White President of the United States’ to disprove veteran NBA reporter Ric Bucher’s claims. The Big Diesel dismissed Bucher’s report that he might have played a major role behind the stepping down of Stan Van Gundy as the head coach of the Miami Heat. O’Neal dismantled Bucher’s claims in a typical fashion using his hilarious sense of humor.

Shaquille O’Neal arrived at the Miami Heat in 2004 after winning three consecutive championships with the Lakers from 2000 to 2002. It was widely speculated that Shaq, who played under Phil Jackson during his tenure with the Lakers, would have some reservations about following the orders of a rookie coach.

Therefore, rumors ran wild after Van Gundy relieved himself from his head coaching duties in December 2005. While most people blamed Pat Riley for the situation, a select few reporters held Shaq accountable.

Shaquille O’Neal calls himself the ’48th White President of the United States’

Stan Van Gundy’s Heat secured the first seed in the East during the 2004-05 season. But he couldn’t get them over the hump to the NBA Finals. The Heat lost game 7 against the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.

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Speculations began to spread after Shaq somewhat implicated Van Gundy in the post-match press conference. Many believed that Shaq didn’t defer to Van Gundy as he did to Phil Jackson because of his lackluster resume. Therefore, Miami Heat president Pat Riley’s return as head coach seemed almost inevitable.

So, the stepping down of Van Gundy citing personal reasons didn’t surprise anybody. And most people held Pat Riley responsible for the move. But then ESPN reporter Ric Bucher blamed Shaquille O’Neal to be the chief reason behind the removal of Van Gundy.

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Shaq denied the allegations completely and questioned Bucher’s credibility as a journalist. “The day he becomes credible is the day Shaquille O’Neal becomes the 48th white President of the United States,” he said.

Pat Riley leads Shaq and the Heat to the 2006 NBA championship

The critical voices soon subsided as Pat Riley led the Miami Heat to its first championship win in franchise history. The Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 to win the 2006 NBA championship.

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Dwyane Wade was selected finals MVP, but Shaq played a major role in beating the Mavs, who were the favorites to win the whole thing.

Many still credit Van Gundy for laying the groundwork for the 2006 Heat team. After his stint at Miami, he went on to coach the Orlando Magic, and more recently, the New Orleans Pelicans.