Former MVP Shaquille O’Neal had mocked the Los Angeles Lakers’ players for their wild celebrations following a 10-year drought ending NBA championship. O’Neal had singled out several players who were just a part of the ride with their minimal contribution and believed that they should not be celebrating in this fashion.
While O’Neal had not mentioned any names while talking about the subject on his podcast earlier, his criticism was largely reserved for Dwight Howard. The Lakers legend felt that few players were bragging about winning their championship, where in fact, their contributions were hardly noticeable.
“There’s a lot of players bragging on their little Instagram like they were the reason they got the championship. I ain’t gonna say no names,” Shaq said.
“Sit your a– down. You didn’t do nothing. Stop it, frontrunner, bandwagon-jumper — stop it. … Post one pic and sit your a– down. You ain’t do nada.”
Dwight Howard only played 11.8 minutes per game and averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in the NBA Finals. The 34-year-old only played a single minute in Game 6 against the Miami Heat that won them the championship.
O’Neal stands by his earlier criticism
The 4-time NBA Champion reiterated that he still stands by with what he said and claimed that he is not a hater by any means.
“You can only hate if you haven’t achieved,” O’Neal said on his podcast this week. “I’ve been there and done that, I’m still the Lord supreme of all big men. I’m the last big man to get an MVP in this league, so I’m still in charge. When another big man gets an MVP, I will resign gracefully.”
Dwight Howard, back in his prime with the Lakers was often the subject of criticism by O’Neal. The latter had accused Howard of stealing his ‘Superman’ nickname.
“When I was coming up and there was Ewing and Hakeem, I never doubled anybody. You tell me who the real Superman is. Don’t compare me to anybody. I’d rather not be mentioned. I’m offended. Hakeem, Ewing, Rik Smits, Duncan, Robinson, the best of the best, straight up. I never doubled nobody.” O’Neal had said
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