via Imago

“He’s not the future Shaq but he can definitely be the first Victor. He’s a great player and he should want to make a name for himself, he should not want to be like anyone else.” This was Shaquille O’Neal‘s sentiment about the Spurs star, back in 2022 even before the NBA draft. But Shaq left Wembanyama outside his top 30 active players list, after downplaying his rookie season hype. And his recent comments might indicate another issue, but this time it was not the French player’s fault.

Well … not directly, at least. Shaq’s latest critique was aimed squarely at a defensive mismatch that left the big man fuming. On his latest episode of The Big Podcast, the Lakers legend gave up watching a game because of what he saw as a glaring error in strategy.

“I saw Lakers were playing the Spurs and you have Austin Reaves on fuc—g Wembanyama, I turned the TV off. How you switch a 5’11 guy on a 7’5 and expect him to be? I’m like, ‘Come on, man!’ I turned the sh– off,” the ‘Diesel’ stated.

The fact that O’Neal’s exaggerated depiction of Reaves as a “5’11 guy,” when the 26-year-old is 6’5, in itself points out how the mismatch was not only a strategic blunder but a symptom of what he sees as larger problems with the modern NBA. “It’s soft and I’ve said this many times, it’s soft because everybody’s doing the same thing. It drives me f—ing crazy!” Shaquille O’Neal lamented, his displeasure evident at the lack of competition and physicality in the league today.

As for Wemby, he ended up with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but not enough to power his team through a victory. Los Angeles secured a win on the road, which was their first after 3 consecutive losses. Since that game, the Lakers are 2-4 meanwhile the San Antonio team is also struggling with a 2-3 record. The conversation about this game started when the guest on the podcast pointed out his issue with the 20-year-old.

via Imago

“I think it’s f—ed up when Wemba is throwing a three-pointer. Get your a– in the middle. What are you doing? What is this s—? It’s corny,” Godfrey, a comedian and impressionist, said on pod. These exact thoughts about Wembanyama have been echoed before. And it was none other than the ‘Big Aristotle’ who said it.

Even though the game management by the Lakers was their fault, the 4x NBA Champion still didn’t like Wemby’s approach. After 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while dominating the league with 3.6 blocks per game. The accolades followed—NBA Rookie of the Year and All-Defensive First Team honors. Yet a key factor that Shaquille O’Neal wants to see is more domination.

“Wemby is a great player, but I don’t really think you can be dominant when you shoot jumpers a lot.” On the Pat McAfee show, the LSU alum raised his issue. “I think if he was an inside player at 7’5, the answer is yes, but when you shoot jumpers, you’re always going to go up and down. Coach will tell you that.”

It was also evident from the against the Lakers that the 20-year-old just made 2 shots beyond the arc. With a total of 9 attempts throughout the game, his 3-point shooting percentage was just 22%. He would be glad that Shaquille O’Neal did not watch the game, otherwise, this point would have surely been brought up again in his show.