Shaquille O’Neal, during a recent appearance on NBA on TNT, went against a range of colleagues to make questionable points about San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama. Shaquille O’Neal compared Wemby, standing at 7 4” with a range of skills that has ‘never been seen’ before in a player of that kind of physical stature, to former Denver Nuggets and current Phoenix Suns’ role player, Bol Bol.
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After a lengthy analysis, which saw him claim Wemby’s strengths were earlier apparent in the South Sudanese as well, he doubled down on his point, via an Instagram post. Sharing a clip of Bol Bol’s highlights from his recent 14-point display, O’Neal suggested the 24-year-old deserves more opportunities.
“We Want More Bol Bol,” the caption read building upon what he had initially said.
Shaq’s point revolved around the fact that NBA fans and analysts continue to pretend as if they have never seen a player with the raw potential that Wemby has. He claimed that Bol Bol was the first 7-footer the league saw with clean handles and the ability to shoot from the 3-point zone.
The 24-year-old has undoubtedly been impressive of late, and recently produced 14 points in less than 19 minutes against the Clippers, coming off the bench. Bol Bol’s unique strengths mean that when on form, he is also a daunting task, for most defenders. While he has consistently been given limited opportunities, things seem to be changing in recent days.
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Bol Bol’s 19 points against the Clippers came after his 11-point display in the victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, outlining how the 24-year-old can still play a big role for a young team looking for someone to make an impact, especially off the bench. Shaq appears to be one of the most notable personalities, who has noticed his improvement, and only recently posted another highlight clip of the 24-year-old, on Instagram.
Shaquille O’Neal believes Bol Bol is comparable to Victor Wembanyama
As mentioned, the Instagram support for Bol Bol came after he had made a lengthy analysis comparing Wembanyama with the former Magic man. He said,
“Wembanyama is just way more consistent that Bol Bol..Bol Bol is the first 7 3” guy who has come out we have seen with the handle, shoot the 3. You are acting like you have never seen a guy like that before. That was Bol Bol…Bol Bol just don’t play hard, that’s all,”
he said, effectively claiming that the biggest difference between the Suns man and the Spurs prodigy was that Bol Bol simply did not play as hard as Wemby.
Hence, Bol Bol has shown enough potential already to impress even one of the most dominant players of all time. Shaq, who himself had an utterly hyped career, seems to believe that the hype surrounding Wembanyama has not just been premature, but also unfair to the 24-year-old Bol Bol, who is firmly seen as only a role player.
According to Shaq, however, people need to stop pretending as if the strengths Wemby has, have never been seen before when there is another 24-year-old in the NBA who can pull off similar things on the court.
