During the offseason hiatus, Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t usually get the opportunity to vocalize his opinions on the league’s developments on the NBA on TNT broadcast. Therefore, he uses his social media as a platform to voice his hot takes on different issues before the season start. Recently, Shaq shared a list of five NBA players on his Instagram stories, who apparently have ‘nothing left to prove’ in the league. Quite surprisingly, the elite list featured Kawhi Leonard, who has been the subject of much scrutiny across the NBA community in recent years.
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Kawhi Leonard’s stint with the Los Angeles Clippers generated a sea of expectations in 2019. However, those expectations soon turned into criticism and ridicule after the two-time NBA Champion failed to deliver a Championship to the Clippers. Despite injuries impeding Leonard’s stint with the Clippers so far, many talking heads have tried to strip the Clippers’ centerpiece of his ‘superstar’ status in the league, including Shaquille O’Neal. However, the big man seems to have somewhat changed his mind recently.
Shaquille O’Neal includes Kawhi Leonard on Elite list
Last year, Shaquille O’Neal claimed in an interview with Taylor Rooks, that there are only four superstars in the league in his opinion, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kevin Durant. When asked about Kawhi Leonard’s exclusion from the list, Shaq seemed pretty dismissive about the five-time All-Star’s claim to ‘Superstar’ status.
Fifteen months after the interview, Shaq has now included Kawhi Leonard on the coveted list. The four-time NBA Champion recently shared an Instagram post from hoopsxcenter on his stories, that listed five NBA superstars who have “nothing left to prove” in the league. The list included LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and of course, Kawhi Leonard.
Shaq believes Jokic, Giannis, Steph, LeBron, and Kawhi have nothing left to prove pic.twitter.com/aA3AbocPQU
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) October 10, 2023
However, Kawhi’s inclusion on the list doesn’t necessarily mean that Shaq approves of the two-time Finals MVP’s ‘Superstar’ status. But it does go on to show that the Los Angeles Lakers legend respects these players for what they have accomplished on the NBA hardwood. It’s important to point out here that all of the listed players have led their respective teams to at least one Championship, without the presence of another superstar on the roster.
Leonard will look to redeem himself
Even though Shaq’s list claimed Kawhi Leonard has nothing left to prove in the NBA, the former Toronto Raptors star will have a chip on his shoulder this year. The 32-year-old has had to endure a lot of criticism over the past few years for his constant unavailability due to injuries.
After Leonard tore a meniscus in his right knee during the Clippers’ first-round matchup against the Phoenix Suns earlier this year, the veteran forward was brutally chastised by the media. Therefore, he will be looking to win it all this year for the LA side with a healthy Paul George and Russell Westbrook by his side. Otherwise, this might very well be the last year we see the pairing of Leonard and PG13 playing together in Clippers’ uniform.
