Shaquille O’Neal has mostly become known for harshly criticizing players during his career as an NBA analyst, but the Hall of Famer broke character to praise Stephen Curry on Tuesday night.
During halftime of the Boston Celtics-Golden State Warriors game, Shaq explained why Curry is his favorite player that he has watched.
Shaq on Steph Curry "I’ve never seen anything like Steph and that’s why he’s my favorite player" pic.twitter.com/LovkZMAEF9
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) February 3, 2021
“I like him because it’s something that I haven’t seen before,” Shaq said. “A lot of times when I try to compare the new era and the old era people say I’m hating. … I’ve never seen anything like Steph, and that’s why he’s my favorite player.”
The irony of Shaq loving Curry is that Shaq has often been critical of the style of play in today’s NBA. Curry is partially responsible for the way things have evolved since Shaq played, as Curry’s Warriors proved you can play with small lineups and shoot your way to a championship.
Shaq has always seemed more comfortable taking shots at today’s players. We saw that recently when he criticized Donovan Mitchell to his face during a live interview (video here). He has openly said he wants that negative feedback to serve as motivation, but apparently Shaq doesn’t think Curry needs it.
