Lou Williams — who spent two seasons of his NBA career playing for the iconic Los Angeles Lakers organization — expressed on X that he is perturbed by “lame s—” from “lil blogs” concerning his comments on former Lakers star big man Shaquille O’Neal.
Lou Williams on if Shaq could average 40 points in todays NBA:
“I’m not buying it… I think our OG’s gotta stop saying that they’ll just average 40 points a game off the whim”
(via @RunItBackFDTV) pic.twitter.com/ZRs7TCbqIy
— Hoops Nation (@_HoopsNation) May 30, 2024
I hate you lil blogs. I showed so much love and respect to big fella only for you to quote this like I was dissing. Lame shit https://t.co/Ojc4OU5MGH
— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) May 30, 2024
O’Neal recently told Dallas Cowboys defensive back Trevon Diggs that he would average 40 points per game in today’s NBA.
.@SHAQ told @TrevonDiggs and @MicahhParsons11 he's averaging 40 in today's game 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/5kvdUFYzXh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 29, 2024
Williams expressed some doubt about O’Neal’s claim, mentioning that the 15-time All-Star would get “hacked” more often in today’s NBA than he did in his era.
Furthermore, Williams mentioned that having to deal with players like Karl-Anthony Towns and Victor Wembanyama might’ve given O’Neal trouble. The former second-round pick also alluded to the fact that many NBA teams today tend to not throw the ball to big men down low and let them go to work.
However, Williams did show the Hall of Famer some love.
Could @SHAQ average 40 in today’s game?@TeamLou23: “I’m not buying it… I think our OG’s gotta stop saying that they’ll just average 40 points a game off the whim” 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/VWWN62Z4hU
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 30, 2024
“Will Shaq be a dominant force in any era of basketball?” Williams asked. “Absolutely, but I think our OGs gotta stop saying that they’ll just average 40 points a game off the whim. … Can he be a dominant force? Absolutely, but just to wake up and say you’ll average 40, I ain’t buying that.”
Williams hasn’t played in the NBA since he appeared in 56 games with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2021-22 regular season. Across 125 total regular-season games (36 starts) with the Lakers, he averaged 16.8 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range.
The 37-year-old is widely regarded as one of the greatest sixth men in the history of the league, as he won three Sixth Man of the Year awards during his 17-year NBA career, which is tied with Jamal Crawford for the most won by any single player.
While O’Neal starred in an era where points were harder to come by in the NBA than they are in today’s league, the 52-year-old never even came close to averaging 40 points per game during his playing days. The most points he ever averaged in a single season was 29.7 per game during the 1999-00 season, his fourth season as a member of the Lakers.
But it’s also worth mentioning that O’Neal was a historically gifted talent from a scoring standpoint, particularly during his heyday. O’Neal has 28,596 career regular-season points to his name, which ranks as the ninth-most in NBA history and is more than legends such as Carmelo Anthony, Hakeem Olajuwon and Dominique Wilkins.
Not only did O’Neal score a whole lot of points during his stint in the NBA, but he also did so with superb efficiency. He shot 58.2 percent from the field for his career and led the league in field-goal percentage on a number of occasions, including for five straight seasons with the Lakers.
Though there is no way to definitively prove whether O’Neal would be capable of averaging 40 points per contest in today’s NBA, his scoring accolades imply that he arguably would have as good a chance as any player in league history to achieve such a feat.
