While the entire basketball world has been appreciating Joel Embiid for a historic 70-point outburst, Candace Parker decided to shed light on the impressive 33-point performance that Victor Wembanyama had. However, Shaquille O’Neal was quick to disregard the San Antonio Spurs rookie’s performance for allowing his matchup to go on a scoring rampage.
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At one point in the TNT Tuesday segment, Candace Parker revealed being content about the future of the game being in safe hands. The WNBA legend lauded Victor Wembanyama while regarding him as one of the future faces of the league.
“I just sat back and watched greatness last night because I think that the game is in great hands. We’re talking about Embiid, which we should, he had 70. But Wemby had 33,” Parker said.
Even before Parker could complete explaining herself, Shaquille O’Neal butted in. The Big Aristotle stated that Wemby’s performance was “null and void” considering that Embiid scored 70 points.
“It’s not good enough. You can’t let nobody hit 70 on you. It’s null and void. He had a good game, but I don’t want to hear ‘oh, he had 33’. No, you can’t let a man get 70 on you,” Shaq said.
Victor Wembanyama had a solid performance. Stuffing the stat sheet, the European prodigy had 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.
However, it is difficult to find any fault in Shaq’s analysis. While Wemby was on a tear with the rock in his hand, defensively, the 7ft 4” youngster didn’t live up to the expectations. But, the conversation would’ve certainly been different had the Spurs grabbed the win.
Shaquille O’Neal was ready to add Victor Wembanyama to the “Big Man Alliance” even before the season started
Shaquille O’Neal disregarded Victor Wembanyama’s 33-point performance. However, this doesn’t imply that the Bog Aristotle is a detractor. In fact, on numerous occasions, O’Neal has showered the 20-year-old with lofty praises.
Even before Wembanyama played his first regular season game, the Los Angeles Lakers legend explained how he believed that the latter was already a part of the prestigious “Big Man Alliance” – a group of the best centers in NBA history. It does speak a lot about Shaq’s admiration towards the youngster, considering that he has not even awarded Joel Embiid with this honor.
Shaq on Victor Wembanyama:
“I’m not gonna put a lot of pressure on him. He’s 19, a rookie. But from the highlights I’ve seen, he’s definitely in the ‘big man alliance’ already. And I never give it up that early.”
(via @NBAonTNT, h/t @Josh810) pic.twitter.com/cjooOvAHav
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 25, 2023
Later, almost two weeks into the season, Shaq shared a bold claim made by Rachel Nichols. While appearing on “UNDISPUTED”, Nichols displayed her faith in Wembanyama, claiming that the Spurs star had a higher ceiling than David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, and LeBron James. Usually, Shaq hates such comparisons. But in this case, the Hall-Of-Famer didn’t clap back at Nichols. Instead, he shared the statement on his Instagram Story.
Not just Shaquille O’Neal, but Victor Wembanyama has emerged as a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year trophy for many other analysts as well. After being unable to win either of the first two Rookie of the Month honors, Wemby decided to approach each game with a vengeance. Proving his naysayers wrong, the 20-year-old has been on a tear in January, recording 24.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks in only 25.2 minutes per game.
