Victor Wembanyama has his San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals in only his third season and first postseason as a pro. They are down 3-1 to the New York Knicks, but there’s no doubt that this series will be a learning experience for a future face of this league. Watching closely is Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal.
The 1999-2000 MVP, four-time champion and 15-time All-Star is involved with the Finals as a member of ESPN’s Inside the NBA. He is seeing up close how Wembanyama is at the precipice of becoming the league’s next anointed mega-star. He still, however, took the opportunity to joke about playing against him one-on-one, according to Melissa Rohlin of The California Post:
“Oh, stop it,” O’Neal told The Post, flashing a smile. “Let’s talk desserts. He’s too light in the cakes for me. Stop it. But I’m not known for defense, so he probably would’ve scored a few points also. There’s no guarding me one-on-one, so you can’t ask me that question. He’s a great player. This is his time now. This is not about me.”
O’Neal in his prime versus Wembanyama right now is an interesting debate. O’Neal is right that he probably couldn’t guard the French phenom and that Wembanyama would struggle to guard him. They both possess skills and attributes that the other never did.
But the Lakers legend and Inside the NBA star did not let the question linger for long before turning the attention back to the Spurs superstar. It is Wembanyama’s time now, and he would instantly become the face of the NBA with three consecutive wins in the Finals to hoist his first Larry O’Brien trophy.
Even if not, Wembanyama is on the path to taking over the NBA similar to the way O’Neal did in his final years with the Orlando Magic and again in the early 2000s with the Lakers.
Shaquille O’Neal gives advice to Victor Wembanyama
O’Neal has garnered plenty of criticism in his time as a studio analyst for the way he treats big men in the modern NBA. However, he gave some earnest advice to Wembanyama surrounding his mentality.
“I think a lot of people, especially the world, get misconstrued when I’m talking about big men,” O’Neal said on Inside the NBA after the Spurs’ victory. “I don’t want you to be like me, I want you to have a certain mentality. The same mentality that I saw [Barkley] have. The same mentality that I saw Patrick Ewing have, that Draymond has. He came out with a lot of energy, a lot of effort. I seen it the last series. Whenever he’s higher in scoring and playing like that, the team plays well. That’s all I’m asking him to do. I’m not asking him to be me, I’m asking him to have that mentality because this is what it takes to win a championship.”
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