Shaquille O’Neal has still got it! The NBA legend is as petty as he has ever been. Oh, and also, he can still dunk! Ever since Big Diesel retired in 2011, we’ve seen clips here and there of him dunking while playing with his kids. Once, we even saw the same on the TNT sets. From first appearances, it looks like Shaq is trying to get some of his 32-inch vertical back. Seeing the kind of money handed out to Anthony Davis and Jaylen Brown, Shaq put up an Instagram post of himself dunking and demanding some of that bread.
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Earlier in the offseason, Jaylen Brown made huge waves as the Boston Celtics signed him on NBA’s largest contract to date. They extended his contract for 5 years, offering $304 Million for the same. Not too many days later, the Lakers locked down Anthony Davis too. They gave him a 3-year, $186 Million extension. Seeing the kind of money going to the players, Shaq is ready to shed off the rust from his 51-year-old body and sign a ‘humble’ 10-day deal.
Shaquille O’Neal demands a 10-day, $350 Million deal
This summer, we’ve seen money go to the players like we’ve never seen before. We saw $260 Million rookie extension deals being signed. At the same time, the NBA got it’s first $300 Million contract. This started conversations about the first $400 Million contract, which Shaq also participated in.
Seeing all that money go to players, Shaquille O’Neal knew it was time to come back. He posted a reel on Instagram where he can be seen playing 2v2 basketball. His teammate cleared the ball and drew the attention of the defenders. O’Neal was left open in the post, and he did what he’s known for best. Shaq exploded to the basket to complete a one-hand jam. O’Neal captioned this post as,
“i jumped a whole 1 inch to dunk, sign me to a ten day 350 million for ten days guaranteed.”
Sitting with a net worth north of $400 Million, Shaq doesn’t really need to be jealous of the players getting paid. However, as he’s said it before, if he was playing in this era, he would’ve made bank.
Shaq believes he would’ve made $400 Million in today’s NBA
Last year, after seeing Nikola Jokic get $270 Million and Bradley Beal with $251 Million, Shaq was taken aback by the size of the contracts. Later, on his Big Podcast, Shaq talked about Gobert earning $205 Million in the current-day NBA. Not very pleased about the same, Shaq said,
“If Rudy is getting 200, I would be making 400 in 5, if it was legal.”
Clearly, Shaq was not happy with players not as good as himself bagging the kind of money he got in his 19-year career over a mere 5-year span. However, that’s how the game evolves. With more money coming into the league, the players will get paid more. I guess that’s why Shaq stopped complaining and instead demanding a 10-day deal instead.
