There was a time when Shaquille O'Neal was the most dominant player in the NBA. But just like any other human, Shaq eventually declined, though, he's still very relevant in the basketball world. And now, there is an entire generation of basketball fans who know more about his latter years in the NBA than the “Big Diesel's” absolute prime in the league.

That brings us to some fans who use Shaq as some sort of a meme to describe NBA players perceived to be on the decline — like Philadelphia 76ers star forward Paul George.

In a recent social media post on X (formerly Twitter), the account “Hater Central” openly wondered if George has reached the “Celtics Shaq” status following the former Fresno State Bulldogs star's subpar performance in a 109-99 home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday. Shaq played his last year in the NBA with the Boston Celtics in the 2010-11 season when he was just a mere shell of his former self. He averaged only 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game with the Celtics before deciding to retire from basketball as a player.

Shaq did not hold back with a fiery response to troll post

Shaquille O'Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden.
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Shaq caught a whiff of that post by Hater Central and decided to respond to it in, well, perfect Shaq fashion, using his NBA ring count to defend his name.

“Celtic shaq had four rings while u was cheering in your moms basement,” the Basketball Hall of Famer wrote.

It's hard to argue against that. For one, it's true. By the time Shaq was playing for the Celtics, he had already put together a resume that was more than enough to carry him to Springfield. As for George, he could also be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day, but his current resume is also simply not on par with Shaq's.

Plus, it's also statistically true that he's taken a step back with the Sixers in his first season with his new team. George, who averaged 22.6 points in the 2023-24 NBA season with the Los Angeles Clippers, is currently producing just 16.2 points per outing with the Sixers. The Sixers aren't doing mighty fine with George either, as they are just 14-20 through 34 games, becoming one of the most underachieving teams in the league today.