“First 7 Foot 5 Guy to Shoot 3s”: Shaquille O’Neal Takes Another Shot at Victor Wembanyama While Praising Bol Bol

Victor Wembanyama’s agility, speed, and shooting range at 7’3 is what impresses most people. But he’s not the first NBA star with this kind of skillset, not for Shaquille O’Neal at least. While doing the Halftime Report on TNT for the Suns vs Grizzlies matchup, Shaq hyped up Bol Bol, the 7’3 Suns forward.

He could have done that without throwing shade at Wemby, but that wouldn’t make for a memorable TV moment. The big fella celebrated the fact that Bol was only two points away from a double-double at halftime.

In celebration, he ate “the nastiest bowl of cereal” which included Cheerios, Sun Chips, Cheetos, M&M’s, milk, and Pepsi. After preparing that bowl, he asked the crew to roll the tape and went to work. He praised Bol Bol’s blocks, rebounds, and three-point shots, where he drew comparisons between him and Wemby,

Shaq said, “The first 7 foot 5 guy to shoot 3s. Don’t be talking about that other guy. Bol is the first.”

Bol’s “Big Dawg Floater” has clearly made a lasting impression on Shaq. The Suns big man has actually been on a good run lately. On Saturday, he dropped a season-high 19 points against the Nuggets. In the game before that, he had 12 points with three rebounds and an assist.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1889530508507291693

The consistency earned him a spot in the starting lineup tonight, his first for the Suns. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands and dropped 18 points with 14 rebounds and four blocks. Bol shot 7 of 16 from the field and 3 of 10 from the distance.

But is that enough for Shaq to throw shade on the 2024 Rookie of the Year? Apparently, it is, because this wasn’t the first time he did that.

Shaquille O’Neal took shots at Victor Wembanyama last season as well

Last season, when the Suns faced the Jazz, Shaq brought up Wemby only to disrespect him while praising Bol. While watching footage of Bol dunking the ball and shooting a jumper, he said that the Spurs star does the same thing and gets praised for it.

When asked if he thinks Bol is as good as Wemby, Shaq said, “Yes, I do.” In that particular game, Kevin Durant had 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Bradley Beal scored 30 points with seven assists and shot 6 of 9 from the long range. Shaq used their performance and the Suns’ 14-point win to hype Bol.

He said, “Bol Bol’s better because his team’s got the better record. I reward teams not individuality.”

Shaq has to be trolling because preferring one player over the other is understandable, but overlooking statistics to make outlandish claims is another thing.