Shaquille O’Neal Says Today’s NBA Big Men Are ‘Powder Puffs’

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the best NBA players of all time, as well as one of the league’s most recognizable faces. Other than being a great athlete, Shaq is also one of the most generous benefactors in professional sports. He’s also known for telling it like it is.

In a recent interview with Complex, Shaq spoke on the significance of this new venture, that is his “Comebaq Court” initiative, his upbringing in New Jersey, the Golden State Warriors’ quest for immortality, and the present NBA scene. The Hall of Famer also discusses his Lakers’ status as one of the best teams in NBA history.

While talking about today’s NBA players, Shaq shared, “Guys who can’t even shoot at all, now they’re out there shooting 3-pointers.”

The interviewer then said, “When you played it was inside out, now it’s outside-in,” To this Shaq replied, “Yep, inside-out. Most of these big guys they have now are powder puffs. They want to shoot jumpers.”

O’Neal then shared, “So if you look at a guy like Steph Curry, who wasn’t a high draft pick, who wasn’t really talked about when he first got drafted and everybody was like ‘he’ll never make it.’ And then a guy like Mark Jackson saw something to say ‘you and Klay [Thompson] you shoot it every time you touch it. You guys are going to be the greatest backcourt ever.’ And then they rolled with that, and Steve Kerr added that championship flavor in the mix. Then you got a guy like Draymond who is a Dennis Rodman type player, and they were able to win, they were able to win big. They actually changed the league, now you have teams playing like they play.”

Shaq has been a consistent winner, winning three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002 and a fourth with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in 2006. That degree of consistency is admired by the NBA’s elite, which is why he so widely respected by the present dynasty of the Golden State Warriors.

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