Most basketball fans wish to see the 2019-20 NBA season return, and the players themselves seem eager to get back on the court and finish the regular season campaign that is in its final stage. However, not everyone is convinced that resuming the suspended season is the best idea. Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal is one of those people.

In a phone interview with Zach Braziller of the New York Post, the Hall of Fame center cited safety concerns for both players and fans as the reasons why he believes the NBA should just end the season.

“We should scrap the season,” Shaquille O'Neal said “Continue to care about the safety of the players and the people, let the government figure out how they’re going to get rid of this thing forever. I hate hearing this statement, oh it’s going to come back, it’s going to come back.”

The league has been working hard to get the season back on track, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver has reportedly said that playing the season as late as October could be a possibility. Silver has also discussed playing remaining games in remote, isolated locations such as a venue in Las Vegas or Orlando.

Just this Friday, the NBA officially re-opened team practice facilities to be used for voluntary, individual social-distanced workouts in states where quarantine restrictions have eased.

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Photo: Boban Marjanovic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shaquille O’Neal

Derick Quinanola ·

So far, only the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers have re-opened their facilities, but other teams are expected to do the same soon.

While O'Neal did play in two lockout-shortened seasons (1998-99 and 2011-12), both campaigns were only forced to scrap the beginning rather than the end of the season and playoffs which is the situation the league is facing now.