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Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is not happy with the current state of NBA basketball.
O’Neal, 53, lamented how the game had gone “soft.”
“The league is getting soft, the game is getting soft and it’s going to take a couple of people to bring it back,” O’Neal said during a recent appearance on “New Heights.”
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Shaquille O’Neal before Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden June 6, 2024, in Boston. (David Butler II/USA Today Sports)
The 15-time NBA All-Star does not like the trend of centers shooting 3-pointers and prefers the big men dominating in the paint.
“Like, I hate big guys shooting (3-pointers). Victor Wembanyama is a great player, but I would love to just see him dominate so much that people start complaining, and they change the rules like when I did. I could shoot, but I’m not going to shoot a (3-pointer),” O’Neal said.
“Why would I shoot a (3-pointer) when I could put your little a– in the basket and dunk on you and put these balls in your face.”
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Shaquille O’Neal (right) talks prior to Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse May 25, 2025, in Indianapolis. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
O’Neal also expressed his disdain for the current NBA All-Star game format.
“Our NBA All-Star format is terrible. I don’t know who’s in charge, but it’s terrible,” O’Neal said.
The NBA’s format this season had four different teams in a mini-tournament drafted by O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith. The fourth team in the format was the winner of the Rising Stars challenge.
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Shaquille O’Neal watches Game 4 of the 2024 Western Conference finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Center May 28, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. (Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports)
Over the years, the NBA has tinkered with the format in hopes of getting more effort from players. Regardless of the format, the players have not given 100% effort during the game and the product has declined.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said next year’s All-Star game will be USA vs. World, but he is “not exactly sure what the format will be yet” during a recent appearance on “Breakfast Ball.”
The NBA Finals begin Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
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