Shaq Did Not Hold Back While Completely Shitting On The Current Era Of The NBA

For the love of Christ, this shit again?? What is it about the old generation of players that makes them so weird when it comes to the current era/NBA product? Is it jealousy?? This obsession with a "back in my day" approach as a way to shit all over what is currently happening in the league in 2025 is so fucking weird to me, and this Shaq clip is a perfect example.

Yes, Shaq was great, nobody debates that. Guess what? There are great players nowadays to! Just because someone might not be Prime Shaq does not mean they are not great, so I'm not sure what his point is there. Players who are great can absolutely be "hating" on current players, Shaq does it all the time! Shit, he does it in this very clip!

Considering LeBron has played in multiple eras, I'm not sure what Shaq's point is? Is he aware that they played in the same era? Suggesting that LeBron's longevity is only because the NBA is "soft" now is the very definition of hating in my opinion, and I don't even like the guy. When Shaq was winning his rings in the early 2000s with the Lakers, was that era soft? Should his dominance be discounted in any way? Of course not! 

I would argue the longevity of all these guys, LeBron/Steph/KD/Harden/Al Horford/CP3 is more about the dedication to their craft and a commitment to putting in the work, not because nobody is getting closelined like in the 80s. Why is it so hard for a previous era player to simply acknowledge that? 

His next claim that the product "is shit" is also ridiculous. This is the entire point about the NBA media discourse! That couldn't be further from the truth! We are watching one of the best regular seasons in recent memory. We have teams doing historic shit, guys are putting up historic seasons, games are entertaining as hell, the list goes on and on. Anytime you hear this claim from anyone it's very obvious they are not watching. Did the MIN/DEN 2OT thriller suck? How about GS/LAL last night? There are games like that EVERY night throughout the entire season, and those who are actually watching (which we know Shaq isn't) know this.

But again here we are. Another huge NBA media voice talking more about how the product "sucks", despite the opposite being the case. And people still don't understand the issue here? Every single day, the NBA Media basically proves LeBron's initial point about how broken the discourse around the game is. Do we see this type of hate/narrative in any other sport from the previous era's greats? Hell no. So why are all these old heads so weird about this current era/product? It's truly bizarre.

Now, I'm not going to argue too much on his Ben Simmons take, that was highway robbery. But at the same time, that's what the market dictated when it came to his value/contract. You are worth what you have the leverage to negotiate. Has he lived up to the expectations that come with his max deal? No, but that happens all the time. Simmons is certainly not the only max player who is "stealing" money, so that just seemed like a weird shot as well.

I don't know if Shaq somehow feels threatened by this current era in terms of guys who might one day be considered higher than him on the All Time rankings, but this entire clip just oozes insecurity and is really just baseless hating. Even if Shaq doesn't think he could possibly be hating because he's great, that's what he's doing.

So, is it jealousy? Insecurity? Something else? Who knows. What I do know is that it's embarrassing to see such a legend of the game continue to be this weird when it comes to the current era of players.