Tag: shaquille o’neal

Charles Barkley and Shaq roasted Kendrick Perkins for questioning how much basketball they actually watch

Charles Barkley and Shaq quickly put Kendrick Perkins in his place.

Note to self: Never question the professionalism or acumen of two Hall of Famers on any sort of nationally syndicated program. (Especially if it just seems like you’re pandering to a major media market.)

This is an important lesson ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins apparently needs to learn.

On Monday, the former NBA big man hopped on the Michael Kay Show to discuss the New York Knicks’ upcoming playoff prospects. During his conversation, Perkins called out TNT’s Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal for only watching NBA basketball when their network is broadcasting games. As it pertains to the Knicks specifically, who, again, play in New York, Perkins isn’t convinced the TNT duo has seen much of them:

“It’s obvious (that) they don’t watch basketball,” Perkins said on the Michael Kay Show. “I’m serious. They can’t watch basketball on a consistent basis. The only time they actually probably watch the Knicks is when they’re covering the Knicks on their game nights.”

Hoo boy. That is probably not something Perkins should’ve said about his peers on a public platform. Needless to say, Barkley and O’Neal caught wind of his critique and blasted the former role-player center during TNT’s first broadcast of the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament.

How? They used the news of Blake Griffin retiring from the league to showcase one of his more famous dunks… on Perkins. Then they quickly made reference to Perkins punching up to two all-time greats out of the blue:

If Perkins’ intent was to ruffle some feathers of fellow national NBA broadcasters, he clearly succeeded. He probably should’ve kept his thoughts to the Knicks, though.

LSU’s Seimone Augustus inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Seimone Augustus becomes the first LSU women’s player selected for the Hall of Fame.

Former LSU women’s basketball star [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag] was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. She becomes the first-ever Tigers women’s player to receive that honor.

She joins coaches [autotag]Sue Gunter[/autotag], [autotag]Van Chancellor[/autotag] and [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] as well as men’s players [autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag], [autotag]Bob Petit[/autotag] and [autotag]Pete Maravich[/autotag] in the Hall.

“When you think about all the qualities involved in being a Hall of Fame player, no one checks all the boxes like Seimone,” LSU Associate Head Coach Bob Starkey said in a release. “But what brings me the most pride is that she was a hall of fame person and teammate as well — I know of no one more deserving.”

The Baton Rouge native played at LSU from 2002-06, being named the national Player of the Year in each of her final two seasons. The first overall pick in the WNBA draft, she won four league titles with the Minnesota Lynx before the eight-time all-star finished her career with the Los Angeles Sparks.

She also later spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant with the Sparks.

Augustus’ enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame will take place from August 16-17.

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Shaq battles USWNT stars Rodman, Shaw in studio penalty shootout

This was a battle for the ages

It was a battle for the ages in the TNT studio, as U.S. women’s national team duo Trinity Rodman and Jaedyn Shaw took on Shaquille O’Neal in a penalty shootout.

The basketball legend went in goal during the network’s NBA post-game show, as he looked to compensate for his lack of goalkeeper ability with his obvious size advantages.

Rodman stepped up first against “Uncle Shaq” — a figure she knows through her father, former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman. The USWNT winger attempted to go down the middle, a strategy that is perhaps more advantageous when the goalkeeper is likely to dive.

Point, Shaq.

Shaw took a more traditional approach, and her low penalty to the side of the massive figure in net was too tough to save.

The USWNT pair’s appearance was part of some good old-fashioned cross-promotion, as TNT is set to broadcast the USA’s SheBelieves Cup opener against Japan on Saturday. The USWNT’s second and final SheBelieves game on Tuesday, against either Brazil or Canada, will be on TBS.

Watch Rodman, Shaw face Shaq

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Jon Anik recounts time Shaquille O’Neal fired him up before delivering UFC intro

Shaquille O’Neal had Jon Anik starstruck right before he was about to go on the air.

NBA legend [autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] had [autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] starstruck right before he was about to go on the air.

The UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator was unexpectedly greeted by O’Neal as he was getting ready to deliver an intro during a UFC event – a moment that remains memorable for him to this day.

“I’ve had one moment like that, and I will never forget it because he’s one of my all-time favorite athletes,” Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. “So I wasn’t doing the standard pay-per-view open, but you may have noticed over the last two years or so, I’ll have certain situations during the broadcast where I do like a standup on camera where I’m sort of close to the crowd, and I’ll memorize something, and then I’ll deliver it and throw to a feature.

“So I’m getting ready in my standup position to do one of these, and I look down, and there’s a big hand reaching out to, like, give me a fist bump. It’s Shaquille O’Neal. If that doesn’t fire you up to fist bump that dude and then deliver to camera, right? I’m not sure how I delivered. It was probably one of the greatest deliveries of my life, right? It gave me a lot of confidence, the good kind of nerves. …Only one real instance where a celebrity was, you know, in sort of my frame of mind as I was just about to deliver something, and that would be the great Shaquille O’Neal.”

You can watch Anik’s full interview in the video below.

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Nets’ Ben Simmons gets mocked by NBA HOFer Shaquille O’Neal

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons was recently mocked by NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neale in a recent episode of “The Big Podcast.”

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons is currently out for the rest of this season due to the nerve impingement in his left lower back not getting better with treatment. He recently had surgery to address his back issue and as such, Simmons is still looking for answers to his injury question.

In the meantime, there are some in the media who look at Simmons’ recent bout of injuries as something of a money grab as opposed to a player struggling to stay healthy. In a episode of “The Big Podcast” that was published recently, NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal said that he would pay to watch Simmons play basketball, but not for the reasons that most people would watch a player.

O’Neal said that he would pay to watch Simmons on the basketball court because he wants to learn “how you can make $80 million and play 55 games.” O’Neal was referring to how Simmons has played in 57 games over the past three seasons despite being paid $33 million, $35 million, and $37 million over that time span.

Simmons, 27, signed a five-year, $177 million extension in July 2019 while he was still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers and was coming off his first All-Star appearance. Since signing that extension, Simmons made All-Defensive first team twice, two All-Star appearances, and made All-NBA third team once.

However, things began to go downhill for Simmons after the 2018-19 season as he played in 57 of 73 games in the 2019-20 campaign and in 58 of 72 games in the 2020-21 season before missing the entire 2021-22 campaign due to a combination of a holdout and a back injury that required surgery.

What makes Simmons such a polarizing player is the fact that he was considered to be one of the NBA’s great, young players as he was being compared to the great LeBron James at one point in his career. However, Simmons has dealt with a multitude of injuries since then that have prevented him from seeing the floor, let alone getting back to his prior All-Star form.

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Shaq revealed why calling Caitlin Clark the GOAT of women’s basketball was a no-brainer

“Name a woman who’s doing what Caitlin Clark is doing. I don’t know one.”

Shaquille O’Neal is unapologetic about his thoughts on Caitlin Clark.

He recently called her the greatest women’s college hoops player ever, which has caused a lot of debate in basketball circles. The more we thought about it, the more we had one question for him: WHY?

Shaq is not one to beat around the bush. He tells it like it is and stands on his words. So, it wasn’t a shock to hear him chat with the NBA on TNT crew in February about Caitlin Clark and definitively dub her the greatest women’s college basketball player of all time. He immediately received pushback from his colleagues asking him if he’d heard of Cheryl Miller, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi or Candace Parker. But he didn’t flinch.

While promoting his “How to March Madness” campaign and “Tips from the Tool Shaq” content series with Home Depot, O’Neal recently revealed to For The Win his criteria for calling Clark the greatest women’s hoops player ever to do it.

Here’s what Shaq shared with us about his Caitlin:

“You always have to look at the stats. If a person has 20 [points], they are great. She has 30. Wouldn’t it automatically make her great? I say yeah. The way she plays, shoots and puts her team on the map — nobody has done what she’s done. The reason why Steph Curry is my favorite player is not because he’s bigger and stronger and gotten more done. It’s because nobody has ever done what he’s done.”

“Name a guy who’s ever done what he’s done. Name a woman who’s doing what Caitlin Clark is doing. I don’t know one. I know one that’s close — JuJu Watkins. I’ve never seen anybody play like Miss Caitlin Clark. That’s why I say she’s the best college player ever. It’s all subjective, but it’s just my opinion. Nobody is doing that step-back Steph Curry shot like Caitlin Clark, and she does it every game. [On March 10], she had four points [in the first half] and then came back with 30. That’s greatness right there.”

Shaq’s son Shaqir O’Neal enters the transfer portal

Shaqir O’Neal appeared in 20 games this season with one start at Texas Southern.

Another son of former LSU star and NBA Hall of Famer [autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] has hit the transfer portal.

Shaq’s son [autotag]Shaqir O’Neal[/autotag], who previously played for Texas Southern, has opted to transfer. A 6-foot-8, 201-pound forward from Los Angeles, O’Neal was a redshirt sophomore for the Tigers this season.

He’s appeared in 20 games with one start in each of the last two seasons, and in 2023-24, he averaged 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds.

A three-star recruit who attended Union Grove High School in McDonough, Georgia, O’Neal ranked as the No. 284 nationally in the 2021 class, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings. His brother, Shareef, began his career at UCLA before transferring to LSU.

The elder O’Neal brother appeared in 24 games as a backup for the Tigers over two seasons. He went undrafted in 2022 and briefly spent time with the G League Ignite.

Shaqir is a largely unproven player, but coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] could take a flyer on a legacy.

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Shaquille O’Neal thinks no player has feared LeBron James

Former Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal said that while people feared Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, the same isn’t true of LeBron James.

Many people agree the greatest NBA player of the past dozen years or so has been LeBron James. His accomplishments speak for themselves, and he’s not done yet, at least not individually.

The debate about where he ranks among the greatest basketball players of all time continues to rage. Some believe his individual accomplishments and 10 NBA Finals appearances make him the greatest, while others cite his 4-6 record in the championship series as the reason they believe he doesn’t rank extremely high on that list.

Perhaps one critical requirement for being the greatest ever is being feared by the rest of the league. Last year, Mario Chalmers, a former teammate of James on the Miami Heat, said no one fears the league’s all-time leading scorer. On a recent episode of “The Big Podcast,” Shaquille O’Neal said  while players feared Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, he has never heard of a player fearing James.

Chalmers then elaborated on his claim that no one fears or has feared James.

“It’s not that you shouldn’t fear ‘Bron,” Chalmers said. “I just think, at the end of the day, ‘Bron has been through so much that he wanted to be liked. So it was kinda like, ‘I’m gonna do things now where people like me, people will respect me.'”

There is no doubt, regardless of where he deserves to rank among the greats of the NBA, that James has a different personality than Jordan or Bryant. Bryant, the late Los Angeles Lakers great who won five world championships with the team, was made into a villain due to the immense volume of hate he received from fans and journalists. He decided to embrace being a villain, and above all, he needed to win to be OK with himself.

James has a different type of motivation that drives him, but he has still placed himself into the highest pantheon of basketball greatness alongside men such as Jordan, Bryant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Shaq revealed that he called Angel Reese to praise her for avoiding the LSU-South Carolina melee

“The only thing you have to fight for is to fight for your team.”

In the aftermath of the LSU-South Carolina scuffle on Sunday, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he thinks Angel Reese did the right thing by avoiding the action on the court.

There’s been a lot of chatter about the dust-up between South Carolina and LSU. As the story continues to unfold, Angel Reese took to social media on Sunday to clarify that she was not involved in the fourth-quarter scuffle with South Carolina because she was already injured on the previous play and that a person of her status has to think about being involved when things like that happen.

While promoting his “How to March Madness” campaign and “Tips from the Tool Shaq” content series with Home Depot, O’Neal — who’s also Reese’s mentor — recently told For The Win, that he spoke to Reese after the game, telling her she did the right thing by not being involved.

Here’s what Shaq shared with us about his conversation with Reese:

I see she’s taking a lot of flack. ‘Oh, she should have been there.’ This is not fighting. The only thing you have to fight for is to fight for your team. The game was played closely. Things like that — you don’t want them to happen. When they do happen, you just move on.

I called her and I said, ‘You did the right thing. Trust me, you did the right thing, because if would have went out there, they would have been looking for you. You and [Kamilla] Cardoso get into a shoving match. She’s already ejected. Can’t play in the next round. That would have happened to you. It would have been all your fault.’ So, she did the right thing. Kudos to her.

LeBron James’ double-digit scoring streak is now longer than Lakers great’s career

LeBron James’ streak of scoring at least 10 points in each game has gotten ridiculous.

When it comes to the legacy and resume of LeBron James, the greatest thing he has going for him is his longevity. It is arguable if he has the greatest or most productive peak in NBA history, but his prime is arguably longer than that of any other player in league history.

On the season, he’s averaging 25.3 points, 8.0 assists and 7.1 assists a game while shooting 53.0% overall and 40.7% from 3-point range. No, he doesn’t exactly play a whole lot of defense anymore, but other than that, the 39-year-old has been about as productive as he’s ever been.

After sitting out a game due to ankle soreness, James returned to action on Sunday and delivered 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-109. That performance meant that his streak of consecutive games with double-digit points is now at 1,208.

That’s one game more than former Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal played throughout his entire NBA career.

That streak is the longest such streak in NBA history. James long ago passed Michael Jordan, who previously held the record after surpassing another legendary Laker, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in that category.