Stephen Curry might be the league’s most popular player, featuring second only to King James. The list of Curry’s admirers includes the Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq has been a Curry supporter for some time now, often letting him know that Diesel has got his back. Four years ago, the big fella even told Conan O’Brien, that he would let Curry score on him if he played in the current era.
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In 2020, Shaq sat down with Conan O’Brien for an interview, where O’Brian asked the former NBA center an interesting question, “You said once that, back when you were playing, back in the day, there were certain players that you would let score on you because you really respected their game. Is that true?”
Shaq, who seemed amused by the question, corrected the host, “Not respect their game, but because I liked their game.” He explained that it was players like Tracey Mcgrady and Allen Iverson who he would let score over him. It wasn’t a regular occurrence either, as Shaq only allowed his favorite guards to roam free for a few possessions, often doing it to mess with his former Laker teammate Kobe Bryant.
Shaq also added that once the playoffs arrived, he wasn’t messing anymore, as everyone on the opposite side was “lunch meat” for O’Neal. Another player to make his short list of favorite guards was Warriors sharpshooter, Stephen Curry. Adding Curry to his list, O’Neal further told Conan,
“If I was playing now, I would let Steph Curry score all the time. I love his game. He’s my favourite player.”
Shaq has time and time again called Stephen Curry his favorite player. He even put Curry over him, telling everyone that Curry was in a “class of his own”, being the best shooter in the sport.
Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t a great defender
Shaq worked hard on the court, often taking loads of punishment under the basketball. The Hack-A-Shaq strategy didn’t help either as the Laker legend left games bruised and irritated. So when it came to playing defense, he was rarely proactive. That’s not to say Shaq didn’t play defense, as the 7’1″ Hall of Famer registered over 2,732 blocks and 739 steals in his career.
A lot of his numbers were severely affected by the league bringing about the zone defense. He could no longer bully bigs in the post unassisted, and the Lakers legend was not amused by it. The Big Aristotle even ridiculed the league for the rule change, telling Sports Illustrated via an interview,
“The NBA is for men and a grown man doesn’t need to play zone. Why do you think they call it man-to-man? If you can’t play it, you shouldn’t be here.”
Even after the zone defense was legalized in the league, O’Neal continued to remain dominant. Even with his less-than-fantastic defense, he became a household name through his offense. Shaq even appeared on the all-time scoring list, taking the 9th spot with 28,596 points. While Shaq might not have been known for his work ethic or defense, he still left a significant mark on the game through his dominance on the offensive end of the ball.
