Shaquille O’Neal is quite an avid social media user and is often seen using different platforms to share his NBA opinions in the form of stats, unknown facts, and hypothetical situations. Recently, the TNT analyst used Instagram to call out three franchises for their horrid performances this season.
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Sharing a telling graphic on his Instagram Stories, Shaq criticized the Detroit Pistons, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Washington Wizards for their combined 1-48 record over the last 49 games. “Combined Record of 1-48,” the post was captioned.
It goes without saying that each of these three teams are currently going through a dark phase in their franchise’s history. The Pistons haven’t won any of their last 19 games. Whereas, the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs have gone 0-16 since their last win in early November.
The Wizards are the only team, out of the three, with a win next to their name in this duration. The 126-107 victory that they grabbed on the 27th of November was from their matchup against the Pistons.
While all three of these franchises have been suffering a losing skid, Shaq has been particularly critical of Jordan Poole. There hasn’t been another player who has received more flak from Shaq than the Wizards star in recent times for obvious reasons. In fact, JP was even featured on TNT’s comic segment Shaqtin’ A Fool.
Shaquille O’Neal has also criticized Victor Wembanyama
Trolling Jordan Poole on multiple occasions seemed harsh. However, the combo guard was not alone in being subjected to this criticism. Victor Wembanyama has been playing some terrific basketball. The 1st pick of the 2023 Draft has been lodging monstrous numbers. But that hasn’t translated to wins for his teams.
During an episode of TNT’s Inside the NBA, Shaq didn’t mince his words when he drew comparisons between Wembanyama and Bol Bol. Comparing Wemby to the Suns’ role player seemed extremely disrespectful to many.
The San Antonio Spurs have had some positive takeaways with the stellar performances that Wembanyama and Devin Vassell have been putting up. Apart from the three wins that they grabbed this year, the team hasn’t been successful. Sitting at the bottom in the West, Gregg Popovich’s boys are three games behind the 14th seed. Clearly, Keldon Johnson needs to step up big time and help Vassell and Wemby lead the Texas side to clinch more wins.
The Washington Wizards were expected to do really well when they acquired Jordan Poole this off-season. Every basketball enthusiast predicted that the Kyle Kuzma-Jordan Poole duo would take the league by storm. However, that hasn’t been the case. In order for the Wizards to live up to the hype, Poole needs to start performing at the All-Star level that he was touted to be.
Lastly, the ailing Detroit Pistons are the worst team in the NBA. Unfortunately, the team has been in the same position over the last few years. However, a 2-20 (.091) record is a new low even for them. While Cade Cunningham has been putting up some impressive numbers, the Pistons are yet to find a stable second option. With youngsters – Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, James Wiseman, and Marvin Bagley III – on the roster, the team has great potential. However, that has not translated into wins.
