Media

Shaquille O’Neal takes shot at Lakers, says he celebrates Stephen Curry instead: ‘I don’t celebrate 7th place at all’

Published by
Peter Dewey

Los Angeles Lakers legend and current NBA analyst Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he’s not going to root for LeBron James and the Lakers.

Instead, O’Neal prefers to support Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry this season.

“I’m not even going anymore,” O’Neal said on “The Big Podcast with Shaq” when asked about the Lakers removing Staples as their arena sponsor.

Nischelle Turner gave O’Neal some push back, saying that he would return, but the big man came back with a shot at the Lakers.

“No, I’m not,” O’Neal said. “Who want to watch them people play?”

The Lakers are off to a slow start in the 2021-22 season, as they are just 13-13 after Thursday night’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

While LeBron James has only played in 14 of the Lakers’ 26 games this season due to injuries and a one-game suspension, O’Neal explained why he’d rather support another team in California this season.

“I don’t celebrate seventh place at all,” O’Neal said. “I celebrate Steph Curry. That’s who I celebrate. I can go to Golden State and watch him play.”

Curry and the Warriors currently hold the NBA’s best record at 21-4 through their first 25 games.

The three-time NBA champion is having an MVP-caliber start to the season, as he is averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.

The Lakers still have plenty of time to turn this season around, but it appears that O’Neal thinks that is a long shot. Los Angeles lost its first matchup of the year against Golden State and will not play the Warriors again this season until Feb. 12 of next year.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

5-time NBA champion says ‘no real fans care’ about Lakers’ success in NBA Cup

The Los Angeles Lakers have started their NBA Cup schedule off on the right foot…

November 21, 2024

LeBron makes stunning announcement as he takes step back on social media

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James uploaded a screenshot of a social media post on…

November 20, 2024

Private message revealed that Austin Reaves sent Dalton Knecht before they knew they’d be teammates

Los Angeles Lakers players Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht were familiar with one another before…

November 20, 2024

Iman Shumpert says LeBron ruined today’s game by forming superteams

The proliferation of superteams in the NBA arguably became normalized once LeBron James teamed up…

November 19, 2024

Shaq says he’ll fight Dwight Howard under certain conditions

Dwight Howard has a compelling case to one day be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial…

November 18, 2024

Report: J.J. Redick admires Serbian coaching, wants to send sons to go to basketball camp there

There are several productive players in the NBA right now who grew up in the…

November 18, 2024