Joel Embiid Responds to Harsh Shaquille O’Neal Criticism

The 2023 MVP Joel Embiid recently appeared in an interview with Ahmad Rashad as part of NBA Rewind. In a candid conversation with Rashad, Embiid talked about a variety of topics, most importantly, touching upon Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon’s criticism of his post-play. Shaq has always been critical of the current generation of centers and has often criticized Joel Embiid for being one of them.

Currently, with the rise in three-point shooting, the dominance of the centers has largely dwindled in the league. The new breed of big men, including Joel Embiid find it hard to fit with this system, thus coming under the radar of criticism from legends such as Shaq and Olajuwon.

Just a few months back, Shaq had called out Joel, asking him to “get his a** in the paint,” to which, the current MVP replied in the interview with Ahmad Rashad.

Joel Embiid replies to Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon’s criticism on his post-play

During the interview, Joel Embiid spoke about his plays as a center and how he drew inspiration from greats such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal. However, when these legendary players criticized him on his post-play, Embiid had the perfect explanation to back his stance.

“I was kind of disappointed from what was said a couple of weeks ago because he [Hakeem and Shaq] doesn’t owe me anything. I just felt like the advise that I have got from the bigs from the past that dominated the league, whether it was Shaq or Hakeem. It was always about whether you live in the post, whether you dominate the post. But the way the game spreads these days, it’s kind of hard to live in the post. It’s impossible, it’s easier to double. It’s not good offense, so that’s why you have to be good inside and good outside too. What is said, I was kind of disappointed because I can do that, but that’s just not gonna help my team.” 

Indeed, the dynamics of the league have changed quite much, with only a few centers retaining the classic style of play from Shaq and Hakeem’s era. Nevertheless, this was not the only criticism Shaq had for Joel Embiid. The Diesel once claimed he would cook Embiid like barbeque chicken if he ever played against him.

Shaquille O’Neal once claimed to cook Joel Embiid like ‘BBQ Chicken’

Shaquille O’Neal has been constant with his criticism of the current generation of centers. He had criticized Dwight Howard in the past and has recently been pulling shots on the 2023 MVP, Joel Embiid. The Big Fella once shared an Instagram post that claimed, “Joel Embiid would lock up and contain Prime Shaq.”  

Taking a screenshot of that post, the four-time NBA champion posted it on his own Instagram with the words, “Hold up.” He then asked his fans their opinion with the caption, “i like these conversations. give me your thoughts. you already kno mine. #barbecuechickenalert.”

Perhaps, if Embiid were to face the prime Orlando or Lakers Shaq, definitely he would have to prepare from days ahead to make his mark in this matchup.