Basketball Hall of Famer and former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal knows what it takes to win championships in the NBA, and he tried to impart that knowledge to Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard following the 2024 NBA All-Star Game in Indiana.
“There’s no reason you should be 3-7 with Doc Rivers over there… You're gonna have to grab some people by the necks and say, ‘Hey, this is what I need you to do,'” Shaq told Lillard, who also won the 2024 NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award.
"There’s no reason you should be 3-7 with Doc Rivers over there… You're gonna have to grab some people by the necks and say, 'Hey, this is what I need you to do.'"
Shaq’s advice to Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo 🗣️
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/WTKGRxEsr5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2024
Shaq mentioned that Dame and Giannis Antetokounmpo are being too “nice” amid the struggles under new head coach Doc Rivers. For Shaq, he wants to see the two superstars take a more iron-fisted approach in motivating their teammates to step up in order to get out of their current slump. The Bucks, despite all their talent, have won just three of 10 games since Rivers' arrival in Milwaukee. They also entered the All-Star break on the heels of back-to-back embarrassing losses to the Miami Heat and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lillard is also struggling under Rivers, but the hope is that he will become better sooner than later. Over the last 10 Bucks games in which Lillard missed two outings, he averaged 21.1 points on just 42.1 percent shooting from the field and 31.7 percent from the 3-point area. Lillard is a much better player than what those percentages suggest, and it's just a matter of time before he gets back to his usual ways on the court.
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