NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal once coached Denver Nuggets big man Bol Bol during the latter's younger years. Recently, the Hall of Famer narrated an interesting story about the time he suspended Bol for going out with rapper Soulja Boy a night before a game.
Shaq, currently a host of the acclaimed “Inside the NBA” program on TNT, shared how this incident came to be:
On @NBAonTNT tonight, Shaq said he once had to suspend Bol Bol and his son Shareef for going out with @souljaboy the night before a game. He then raved about Bol: "This kid right here has it. And I’m glad he’s with a guy like Mike Malone because Mike speaks our language." pic.twitter.com/WEyCCRP32q
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) July 29, 2020
O'Neal's message definitely came across, and it surely helped Bol develop into the player he is today. The fact that Shaq also suspended his own son for violating team rules does not only speak volumes of how the legendary big man holds no biases when it comes to coaching, but also, it made Bol realize how serious O'Neal was about setting them straight.
As Shaq said, Bol appears to be in a great position right now playing under Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. The 20-year-old, who Denver selected at 44th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, has yet to make his official debut with the Nuggets. He had not done enough prior to the hiatus to prove that he deserves a spot in Malone's rotation — something that might just change one the season restarts on Thursday.
Bol had a noteworthy performance for Denver on Monday in a 114-110 loss to the Orlando Magic. The 7-foot-2 center logged 20 minutes off the bench, putting up 10 points, two 3-pointers, six rebounds, an assist, and a block. This came after two other stellar performances in scrimmage play.
At this point, Bol may have impressed Malone enough to at least be considered for some minutes moving forward, though the Nuggets' deep roster and championship aspirations may still limit him.
Even if Bol doesn't get much playing time this season, he could be a game-changer if he continues to develop.
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