The 2025-26 NBA season has been far from smooth sailing for the Los Angeles Lakers. While, they are still hopeful of a postseason berth, the Lakers haven’t proven that they deserve to be among the select group of championship contenders. Despite the consensus being against them, Shaquille O’Neal believes anything can happen as long as the Lakers secure their playoff berth.
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Ahead of the season, there was great optimism that the Lakers could perform better than they did last year. The team had the opportunity to put together a roster more catered to Luka Doncic. The team bettered their chances by signing of Deandre Ayton. Unfortunately, that hasn’t gone the way they would have hoped for.
The franchise has had the privilege of being home to some of the greatest big men in NBA history. Of course, nobody expected Ayton to emulate the level of performance Shaquille O’Neal got fans used to. However, surely he could make an impact toward winning while playing alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
But it turns out that Ayton is not the missing piece for the Lakers that the team thought he could be. His performance has been extremely frustrating, mainly because he has the talent and skillset to really make a difference. O’Neal expressed that frustration in his recent appearance on ESPN’s Inside the NBA.
“You’re not going to be on the same team with LeBron and Luka and think you’re going to get shots,” O’Neal said. “If you just do your job, set picks, rebound and run the court, you can get easy buckets. I wish my career were this easy.”
It’s no news that Ayton isn’t a big fan of the way the Lakers have been utilizing him. However, if he just did the little things, it could raise the team’s floor exponentially, especially since the team still has a 35-24 record.
Los Angeles is only a game and a half behind of the Denver Nuggets for the fourth seed. It’s well-known that home-court advantage goes a long way, especially in the postseason. As long as the Lakers get in, Shaq isn’t ruling out anything.
“If they can get home-court advantage, anything is possible. I played on a team where we weren’t expected to win in 2006 with Miami. So, I disagree with Chuck with them not being contenders,” O’Neal proclaimed.
Shaq’s comments immediately sparked a reaction from his co-host Charles Barkley. The infamous sports media personality has been on record denouncing his faith in the Lakers’ ability to go far in the playoffs. However, this time, O’Neal wasn’t alone in his sentiment; Kenny Smith sided with the Lakers legend.
“[The Houston Rockets] won it from the six,” Smith said.
The rendition of the Rockets Smith was referring to was the 1995 team that went on to win the NBA championship. Of course, Smith was on that team, but they also had one of the greatest players in league history, Hakeem Olajuwon.
“So you’re comparing [Ayton] to Hakeem Olajuwon now?” Barkley sarcastically asked.
The crew’s mediator, Ernie Johnson, settled things down before the conversation got out of hand, but it makes for a good discussion. We have seen plenty of instances where if a team gets hot at the right time, they can make a deep run.
The Indiana Pacers from last season are a perfect example. The Lakers certainly have the star power to make it happen, but it may very well depend on whether Ayton can raise his level of play consistently.
