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Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif
Like the Pacers and Thunder, Shaquille O’Neal still has to wait before going on vacation. Charged with covering the NBA Finals for NBA TV, the glorious pivot kicked off hostilities with a rather scathing speech about… Chet Holmgren.
While he likes to come across as a tough guy in public, he occasionally lets his emotions show. Shaquille O’Neal, for example, couldn’t contain them a few days ago, following the Pacers’ qualification for the NBA Finals. Not because of any joy at the Knicks’ elimination, but rather because it meant the end of one of the greatest chapters in his personal history.
A consultant for TNT since the start of his post-career career, the former Lakers pivot bid farewell to the network on this occasion. Though saddened, he nonetheless delivered an incisive message to his future employers and the competition as a whole. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that he won’t be appearing on American television in the days to come to deliver his secret punchlines.
Shaquille O’Neal sets the record straight on Chet Holmgren
O’Neal may be finished with his TNT adventure, but he’ll still be covering the NBA Finals on NBA TV. He’ll be in Oklahoma City for Games 1 and 2 of the series, where he’ll be able to decipher the performances of the Thunder and their Big Three. Or rather… its “Big-Two”, since Chet Holmgren would be excluded from this discussion according to him. Indeed, he explains in The Pivot podcast:
Shaquille O’Neal: We all have our share of responsibility in this because sometimes we grant too many statuses. The Thunder have a Big-Two because that b* of J-Dub (Jaylen Williams) is to be taken seriously. He plays really well. The rest are just role players, including Holmgren. You’ve got to calm down (…) I don’t want to disrespect him, but he’s not a Big-Three. Let’s stop this.
According to Shaq, OKC’s only real stars are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Holmgren, for his part, would be a notch below them and would therefore not (yet) form a Big-Three alongside his two talented team-mates. Despite this, Diesel recognizes that the Pacers would do well to take him seriously and delivers a relatively flattering closer:
Shaquille O’Neal: Having said that, Chet is an excellent role player. He’s a kind of Horace Grant or Tony Kukoc.
In truth, the young American interior can look forward to honoring this comparison in the days and years to come. After all, he certainly wouldn’t spit on a list of achievements worthy of Kukoc and Grant, three-time and four-time NBA champions respectively. Even if he had to settle for role-player status.
