Shaquille O’Neal Slams Zion Williamson Post Pelicans Loss To Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal is Zion Williamson’s point of reference since he is himself.

In the In-Season Tournament semifinals on Thursday night, the Lakers defeated the Pelicans by a score of 44 points, and Williamson found it difficult to keep up. O’Neal provided an analysis of Williamson’s play following the game on TNT.

Shaquille O’Neal Slams Zion Williamson Post Pelicans Loss To Lakers

In the mid-1990s, O’Neal claimed to have seen Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson as his competitors and realized he wasn’t on their level.

“I couldn’t do it, because I wasn’t working as hard as I thought I was,” O’Neal acknowledged.

He then launched into a criticism of Williamson, claiming that the 23-year-old is not a “hard runner.”

“I had the same problem in my first and second years. I thought I was running hard. Charles [Barkley] has talked about this,” O’Neal said.

“Because my talent’s going to get me 20 [points]. When I started getting to 30-40, it was because I started doing certain things.

Among the Pelicans players who had a rough game that night was Zion Williamson, who finished his 26 minutes of play with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting, three rebounds, and two assists. It was a difficult game to watch for a guy who can play better, especially for Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.

Following the game, both Hall of Fame inductees took some time to criticize Williamson for not performing in a way that would have made him the franchise’s face, as New Orleans hopes.

“He doesn’t create easy points for himself. He doesn’t see [open teammates]. He doesn’t demand the ball … Charles always talks about how you can’t have a little guy guard you. He doesn’t have that ‘look’. Like, ‘I’m the greatest ever.’ I know a look when I see it.”

O’Neal claimed that Jack Nicholson and Tiger Woods were two athletes who had adopted the “look” over time.

“He [Williamson] just does not have that look, and he doesn’t rebound,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal concurred with Kenny Smith that Williamson may be the league’s top player.

“Again, I was just like him, so I don’t want to sit up here [and rip him], but people used to pull me to the side and tell me I wasn’t working as hard [as I needed to],” O’Neal said.

“Once he decides to be that killer and go for it, he’s going to be a dangerous person.”

Shaq said that he was once the same kind of young player as Williamson is now after Smith brought up the fact that he thinks Williamson has the potential to be the best player in the league. It was around this time that Barkley chimed in and expressed his disappointment in the Pelicans star.

What was Shaq known for?

In addition to being a skilled basketball player, O’Neal holds the third-highest field goal percentage record in history (58.2%). Shaquille O’Neal has achieved success in acting, music, television, and gaming in addition to his athletic achievements off the court. Shaq works as an analyst for Inside The NBA right now.

https://twitter.com/NAccount8299/status/1733250140649971870

What is the name of Shaquille O Neal’s company?

Big Chicken was founded in 2018 and is supported by an incredible group of partners, including Hall of Fame basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, Authentic Brands Group, a multi-national, multi-billion dollar brand development, marketing, and entertainment company, and JRS Hospitality, an accomplished ownership group based in Las Vegas.

 

 

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