Shaquille O'Neal Exposed for Losing Touch with the NBA

Not even NBA analysts are watching the league as closely as they should.

NBA Hall of Famer and 'Inside the NBA' star Shaquille O'Neal suffered a royal misstep when asked about the Detroit Pistons' surprising revival this season: climbing from arguably the worst team in pro sports to a top-five team in the East.

If you didn't know that, don't worry; not many folks are watching the NBA nowadays.

MCDONOUGH, GEORGIA - APRIL 17: Retired NBA Player/television personality Shaquille O'Neal attends Shaq Attack Day at Nana’s Chicken & Waffles on April 17, 2024 in McDonough, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

But getting paid to appear on a marquee NBA show and not keeping up with the league is criminal.

O'Neal praised the Pistons, starting with team star Cade Cunningham, but then Shaq mistook Chauncey Billups, the current coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, for the current Pistons coach, J.B. Bickerstaff.

"He's a great player. I like the way he's playing. I like what Chauncey is doing; those guys play hard," O'Neal said, giving a glib response that would've flown during most conversations on 'Inside the NBA' if not for the Chauncey name-drop.

After his crew corrected him, Shaq openly admitted the quiet part: he doesn't watch Detroit basketball.

"First of all, I don't watch Detroit, how about that?" O'Neal said in his cover-up.

Shaq's blind spot was a microcosm of the NBA's growing issue with engaging audiences in the modern league, which has been weighed down by relentless free-throw baiting, a ridiculous frequency of 3-point attempts, and, of course, the dreaded "load management" that keeps players out of action.

No matter how close these figures are to the game, they're openly admitting to caring less about the NBA because of its dull action.

And as the NBA struggles to reel in audiences, great comeback stories like the Detroit Pistons' go unnoticed.

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