Shaq: I Can Only Name A Few Current NBA Players
Shaquille O' Neal... he's just like us.
Yes, the star NBA Hall of Famer admittedly letting us all know that even though he has spent the majority of his life either playing or covering basketball, that he barely knows who any of the players are.
O'Neal was speaking on NBA on TNT's postgame show when he made the comments in reference to saying he didn't know who newly acquired Lakers forward Rui Hachimura was.
“Albert Einstein said things you can get access to you should never memorize,” O' Neal said. “If you ain’t a top 10 player, I don’t know who you are, that’s no disrespect. How am I supposed to know who the kid was?”
FANS ARE MAD AT SHAQ
The Lakers acquired Hachimura in a trade from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks. He has made headlines before by being known as a Japanese-born NBA player. But Shaq wasn't having any of it.
"I'm not watching the Bullets or the Wizards," Shaq exclaimed.
Some NBA-elitist fans started losing their minds over his comments, calling Shaq everything from a clown to disrespectful. Oh, and I guess the new burn word, which is to call someone a 'casual.'
SHAQ IS AN ENTERTAINER, NOT AN ANALYST
If you honestly believe that SHAQ is sitting around watching game film and studying players in his spare time, you are out of your mind. This is SHAQUILLE O' NEAL. Him and co-panelist Charles Barkley's main job is to entertain, not to inform. They aren't cashing it in per say (well they are when you think about how much money they're making) but they are there to give real, honest takes - not to break down game film for everyone.
Many on social media were ripping Shaq for his comments, saying that he shouldn't be allowed to cover the NBA if he's not an actually paying attention and doing real analysis. Please, spare me with your crying everyone. Shaq and Barkley do not care. If you're tuning into NBA on TNT for hard-cutting analysis rather than a couple game highlights and quirky comments, then you should probably look in the mirror.
HONESTLY, HOW MANY NBA PLAYERS CAN YOU NAME?
I actually salute Shaq for being honest about it.
Besides Curry, LeBron, Kyrie, KD, Giannis, Chris Paul, etc, etc, etc.
Shaq has been involved in the NBA long enough and knows how many players that came in with so much hype that have ended up being complete busts. He's not going to waste his time at this point of his career and life to learn about everyone. Sorry, but it's the truth.
I guarantee if you ask Shaq who the starting five for his former teams the Lakers, Heat, and Magic are right now - he wouldn't be able to come close to naming them.
And that's fine.
Why?
Because it's Shaquille O'Neal. And TNT isn't paying him to study and comment on how good the Suns are with the pick and roll or if Steph Curry's 3-point percentage increases when it's an afternoon game after a night game.
Although Shaq may want to start learning some of the other players in the league. Based on the current trend by many of the stars that continually sit out - he may not know anyone left on the court.