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Par Guillaume Kagni | Journaliste sportif
Since becoming a consultant, Shaquille O’Neal has not been kind to players who are still active. He likes to attack the pivots of the new generation, like Joel Embiid, whose style of play he doesn’t necessarily appreciate. In fact, he didn’t like the Sixers superstar’s response.
Shaquille O’Neal is the same on stage as he was on the NBA floor: merciless. Throughout his career, and especially in his younger days, he never missed an opportunity to crush his opponent in the paint and dunk on his head. Today, as a consultant, it’s with his words that he tries to establish his superiority over the new generation.
Although viewers may reproach him for this, Diesel likes to remind current talent that he was dominant and would undoubtedly be better than them if he were still active. This was notably the case with the phenomenon Victor Wembanyama this season, as if the Frenchman didn’t have the means to give the Hall of Famer hell with his dribbling quality and outside skill.
The tiff between Shaquille O’Neal and Joel Embiid
His justification is that he tries to steal from the players he respects the most, to push them to excel. He was brought up that way, and the result has been beneficial in his career, so he still applies this old-fashioned method. Except that some people decide to respond to him, such as Joel Embiid. He spoke out on his podcast.
The way I judge today’s players is by asking myself if they could have played in my day. I ask myself the same question with Joel Embiid. Is he bad enough to hold up to the shock of the 90s? I once tried to bump into him with my remarks, and he simply replied, “We don’t play that way today.” Excuse me? I don’t even feel like talking to him anymore. He should be punishing his opponents in the paint.
Shaquille O’Neal believes that the NBA of the 90s and 2000s was the best NBA in history, which is why he judges today’s players through that prism. If he feels that a talent would have survived against the monsters of the time, then he congratulates them and shows them respect. On the other hand, Diesel doesn’t accept contradiction.
Joel Embiid, hearing the criticism, wanted the former MVP to understand that the game had evolved and that it was now normal for an inside player to take outside shots, dribble and organize the game. This is something Shaq finds hard to hear, which is why he now refuses to talk to the Sixers pivot. He’d like to see him mean under the basket.
