(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal quickly went from one of the league’s best players ever to being one of the most entertaining members of sports media.
While he is entertaining, he is known for having some spicy takes once in a while, and his newest one is right up there with some of his spiciest work.
Shaq shared his predictions for the first round of the NBA playoffs, and his one pick that jumps off the page is where he chose the Los Angeles Lakers to upset the defending champion Denver Nuggets and advance to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.
.@SHAQ has the Lakers taking down the reigning champs in Round 1 pic.twitter.com/LaaDazN6hO
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2024
Of course, O’Neal has to show love to the franchise he won three titles with, but this take could age like milk.
The Lakers already got demolished in the second half of Game 1 to go down 0-1 in the series and haven’t beaten this team in two full years.
Denver has won nine in a row against the Lakers including the sweep in last year’s Western Conference Finals, and every game has largely followed the same blueprint of LA taking an early lead before Denver weathers the storm and pulls away down the stretch with Nikola Jokic quietly dominating them.
This isn’t as bad of a take as when Shaq compared Victor Wembanyama to Bol Bol, but the Lakers just haven’t shown that they’re capable of beating the defending champions, and the gap between the two teams appears to be growing year after year.
Shaq must be held accountable for this take if the Lakers get swept again.
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