Los Angeles Lakers icon Shaquille O'Neal is without a doubt one of the best to ever do it. He's one of the greatest big men this sport has ever seen, so when he speaks about the game, people tend to listen.
Shaq has also been known to be a straight shooter. So much so, that he's gotten himself in a bit of trouble as a broadcaster with his hot takes, particularly when it comes to directly criticizing players. Some stars don't take too well to O'Neal's unfiltered criticism, but in his mind, the Hall of Fame big man is certain that he only means well.
In a recent podcast interview, Shaw was asked if he felt some of the players today are “too sensitive” when it comes to external noise. O'Neal did not take this opportunity to stomp on the younger generation in the NBA. Instead, he decided to shed light on his own mindset when it comes to criticizing the players:
“Not that they're sensitive,” Shaq said. “(I) never talk about a player bad, like I don't like them. Just giving them advice. If you want my advice, cool. If you don't, it's fine with me. But it happens. It's part of the game.”
"I was sensitive. I tried to shut you guys up by winning… You want to be known as great, you got to step up."
Shaq speaks on being critical of NBA players in today's game 🗣
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Shaq then went on to talk about the pressure he had to face during his playing days with the Lakers. The four-time NBA champ explained that he is speaking from experience when he comes out with his criticism simply because he was under the exact same pressure during his playing days:
“I was sensitive. I tried to shut you guys up by winning,” he said. “… You want to be known as great, you got to step up.”
I see no lies here.