Shaquille O’Neal was a bit of an enigma in his prime. At 7’1″, he was a big man who could move like a cat, which made him especially dangerous. The former Lakers star now sees a bit of himself in San Antonio Spurs’ big Victor Wembanyama. Wemby, who had been out for half of last season because of deep vein thrombosis, has started the 2025-26 season like he is on a mission. Thoroughly impressed, Shaq has offered some potent advice to the French big man.
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The Spurs have had some great times under Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich. But with Wembanyama leading the way, they have already done something that hadn’t ever been done in the franchise’s history. Riding high on Wembanyama’s freak streak, the Spurs have started the season 5-0 for the first time in Spurs history.
Wembanyama, at 7’4″, has the skills of a guard and consequently, has already become the first player in the league’s history to amass 150 points and 20 blocks in the first 5 games of a season. Shaq believes he has already redefined what teams expect from their big men.
“Listen, they’re playing great … Joker has already redefined what big man can do, but Wemby’s taking it to a different level, dribbling between his legs, stepping back, looking like Kevin Durant. He’s playing some excellent basketball right now, and I’m happy for him. I’m happy for the San Antonio organization,” the 4-time NBA champion said on The Rich Eisen Show.
That said, there are still 77 games to go in the regular season. Wemby is operating like he’s on a clock and has a cheat code wired into his core. But is it sustainable, especially since he’s just recovering from a serious injury? O’Neal, himself, had to deal with a few injuries during his career and believes Wemby will need to learn from his example and steady himself.
Citing former Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s management of him, Shaq said, “I would tell him to pace himself. Phil Jackson, and I don’t know how he did it, but the three years we won in a row, he would come in at times and be like, ‘Hey, sit these two games out. I need you to rest. No parties, no rap videos, no commercials, just rest. But when you come back, I need you to average 40.'”
O’Neal revealed that Jackson did a great job handling the bulk of the planning for Shaq’s load management, a controversial subject as it may be right now. Shaq advised that in case Wembanyama gets a freak injury in the process of bullying teams, he shouldn’t shy away from taking a week off, even if it means the Spurs losing a game or two.
He asserted that there was no point in trying to go all out and play through an injury here and there, only to feel wasted by the time the postseason games arrive. Well, that is good advice indeed, but whether or now Wemby follows it, especially since he’s on a rampage at the moment, remains to be seen.
