Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal had a straightforward message to Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons.
The man, @Shaq on the @Sixers Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/Megqsh4gyO
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 10, 2021
“I like Ben,” O’Neal said in a segment with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. “I may be a little hard on him, but I can do that.”
O’Neal, who is an NBA analyst for TNT, then went into his advice for Simmons and what he’d tell him if they were teammates.
“He went to LSU, my alma mater,” O’Neal said. “And guess what? If he was my teammate, I’d tell him the same thing to his face. You gotta work on your game, man. Don’t be sending out tweets with you and your little actress girlfriend. I don’t want to see that. I want to see you win a championship for Philadelphia.”
The Hall of Famer may be blunt in his comments, but he has four NBA titles for a reason.
Simmons has been the subject of trade talks this offseason after a poor showing in the playoffs during the 2020-21 season.
Still, the three-time All-Star is an elite defender and could be one of the game’s best players if he developed a perimeter game.
It will be interesting to see if Simmons comes back as the same player in the 2021-22 season.
