What is Shaquille O'Neal so mad about, and why is NBA coverage so mean spirited?

[MrBigShot]

Shaq is the childhood bully that never grew up.

He is the most insecure former player to ever exist, and it's very obvious from the things he says that he's dissatisfied with life and projecting that outwards. Probably because he's lost the adoration that comes with being a great player currently playing, in addition to being divorced because of cheating on his wife.

[MrPainfulTruth]

As Shaq himself said. When he comments critically on the self promotion of todays stars and particularily LBJ, he is somehow "hating". When the same players say - lacking any rational reasoning - how they are so much better and would have scored 50 in the 90's, its just somehow "normal". Its a collective brainwash. I am glad we have a few media figures who are actually not yet in Klutch's bag. Watching ESPN, reading Bleacher Report feels like media coverage has turned into russian federal TV.

[Tracymcgoaty]

As Shaq himself said. When he comments critically on the self promotion of todays stars and particularily LBJ, he is somehow "hating". When the same players say - lacking any rational reasoning - how they are so much better and would have scored 50 in the 90's, its just somehow "normal". Its a collective brainwash. I am glad we have a few media figures who are actually not yet in Klutch's bag. Watching ESPN, reading Bleacher Report feels like media coverage has turned into russian federal TV.

dude your skill of making every thing about Lebron and Klutch needs to be studied.

I am in awe of your hate.

[Jasen777]

I don't remember the league ever bring like this when I was growing up. The current guys claiming they'd score 200 points a game if they played 30 years ago and the old vets claiming the new players suck. It's pretty disrespectful both ways frankly

I remember Wilt saying Jordan wouldn't be able to get to the basket as easily in his era etc
Don't remember a show supposed to promote the NBA crap on it as much as Inside the NBA though

Yes Wilt said dumb things like that Jordan couldn't play in his era because he wasn't strong enough. No one put him on TV to make the same complaints for hours every week though.

[MrPainfulTruth]

As Shaq himself said. When he comments critically on the self promotion of todays stars and particularily LBJ, he is somehow "hating". When the same players say - lacking any rational reasoning - how they are so much better and would have scored 50 in the 90's, its just somehow "normal". Its a collective brainwash. I am glad we have a few media figures who are actually not yet in Klutch's bag. Watching ESPN, reading Bleacher Report feels like media coverage has turned into russian federal TV.

dude your skill of making every thing about Lebron and Klutch needs to be studied.

I am in awe of your hate.

Well its cute how you get all defensive and ad hominem when its about LBJ and Klutch. Unfortunately he's literally in the OP so its more about you than about me here, isnt it?

[Nate505]

Dude is a complicated person. Well maybe not. He's an **** and a bully.

[axeman23]

Kenny, Ernie and Chuck are like the Super Trooper cast, and Shaq is Farva. Louder, lamer, and just misses the mark a lot...

[jokeboy86]

Shaq is the childhood bully that never grew up.

He is the most insecure former player to ever exist, and it's very obvious from the things he says that he's dissatisfied with life and projecting that outwards. Probably because he's lost the adoration that comes with being a great player currently playing, in addition to being divorced because of cheating on his wife.

I don't think he's unhappy it's just probably since he was a kid he's always been the center of attention and always has to be the center of attention. He also can't take any criticism no matter how measured it is. Apparently he's so mad the way Shannon Sharpe respectfully dressed him down that according to Matt Barnes he's looking for dirty laundry on him just to get him back. The only reason he's probably acting like that is because unlike other people he probably knows he can't physically intimidate Sharpe or threaten to get physical with him which he tends to do with his feuds. The only people that Shaq has ever listened to or gotten him to humble himself are his mother and his late father. Kobe had to have some guts for basically never being afraid of Shaq.

[Mk0]

He did Old Man and the Three just before JJ became a host, and was entirely detestable.

He said he doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion unless they’ve done what he’s done, and he doesn’t care about giving people his honest opinion because they haven’t earned it.

I agree - I do not understand why any network would put a guy like this on TV.

This was always his excuse for being disrepsectful towards Bill Walton.

Shaq acted like Walton's critiques didn't matter because he "didn't earn it"

Which is insane because he's Bill f#@king Walton.

[sashaturiaf]

I do not watch Inside the NBA or ESPN, but I am not American, I get games through other media. I can't imagine watching that, but I understand in America thats often the only way to watch games, so you have to watch Stephen A or Shaq talk, I feel bad for you guys.

Why is that TNT show still on, because any time I hear anyone I follow talk about it, they talk how they crap on the NBA, and I mean they literally are National NBA media. How is NBA even allow these guys on tv then lol? When I watch F1, I don't sit through people who say to me that its ****, like wtf?

If the product is **** I prefer an announcer that can point that out, rather than a bought for shill.

For instance, F1 would be much better if Jeremy Clarkson was part of the coverage.

[Jimmy Recard]

The other day they were talking about the Pistons success this year and Shaq attributed most of it to their head coach Chauncey Billups. He needs to go away.

[zimpy27]

Game is much more cerebral now and big skilled dumb dumbs like Shaq just don't understand what they are watching

[ScrantonBulls]

Former NBA players are the dumbest and most insecure of any former pro athletes. It's not particularly close. There is so much low IQ whining from them about the current game. It's embarrassing. Then you have fans that parrot these talking points coming from Shaq and others.

The NBAs problem is that a large chunk of former players and fans are just uninformed and insecure about the modern game. The former players trash the modern game and modern players because they're trying to "prove" they were better than the modern players. They're insecure about how much better players are today and how much they get paid.

The fans that trash the modern game are mired in nostalgia and are unable to move on from the years that they perceived as being the "golden years".

[K N U C K L E S]

He didn't really have talent either when he was playing. He was nothing without his size. And he never cared to become a better free throw shooter. I heard a coach suggested he shoot free throws granny style, but he wouldn't because he thought it would be bad for his image. Didn't Wilt shoot free throws granny style? Somebody in those days did.

Incidentally, what about aiming for inside the white square on the glass? Isn't the ball supposed to go in 95% of the time after it hits the glass inside the white square? Isn't that why it's there?

[OldSchoolNoBull]

NBA Coverage can be mean-spirited both ways though. For every Shaq and Barkley who don't like the game now, you have guys like Redick and Nick Wright who promote the modern game heavily. I know Wright isn't generally regarded as a serious commentator, but Redick was a very good podcaster who very much leaned modern in his preferences and said some fairly disrespectful things about the past(plumbers and firemen, etc).

Extremes generate ratings.

I will say that while I don't really think Shaq's kind of negativity is good for the game, I also don't much appreciate the tone of those modernists who think the current game is the bestest, most perfect version of basketball ever and that previous eras sucked in comparison.

It is possible to compare one era to another without all the ugliness.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

He's a narcissist and a massive piece of ****, not that difficult to understand

[Braggins]

The NBA media is filled with bitter former 90s/00s players/fans who can't come to terms with the game having evolved beyond them and they have to **** on the current league to make themselves feel better and less insecure. Its honestly pathetic and I think its a legit problem for the league that the game is covered this way and these people are constantly shaping the narrative about the league. They need to start firing these clowns.

[TroubleS0me]

like Shaq said in one of his song...

You can't stop the rain (you can't stop the rain, no)
When it starts to fall (when it starts to fall)

[UcanUwill]

I do not watch Inside the NBA or ESPN, but I am not American, I get games through other media. I can't imagine watching that, but I understand in America thats often the only way to watch games, so you have to watch Stephen A or Shaq talk, I feel bad for you guys.

Why is that TNT show still on, because any time I hear anyone I follow talk about it, they talk how they crap on the NBA, and I mean they literally are National NBA media. How is NBA even allow these guys on tv then lol? When I watch F1, I don't sit through people who say to me that its ****, like wtf?

If the product is **** I prefer an announcer that can point that out, rather than a bought for shill.

For instance, F1 would be much better if Jeremy Clarkson was part of the coverage.

The stuff Inside the NBA guys seem to complain aren't even problems.

I am not huge NBA fan, I do not like the product much either, but its not what they complain about. I don't like NBA pacing, to me NBA timeout length just sucks all the fun out of the game, I wish people complained about that. Like why Euro timeouts are 3 time shorter, like why? Thats fixable, you send a message to NBA they are too greedy with this commercial time, hopefully they fix that. I don't get why Americans have no problem with real stuff like that, the fact its 2 and half hour broadcast where majority of time game is not even being played. I watch more in arena entertainment garbage than I watch Basketball than I watch NBA game, but people rather complain about 3 point shooting... I don't known man, this is NFL nation, where game of stoppage time is acceptable I guess, so thats not problem over there apparently, they rather complain about 3s... I myself when I turn the game, I just wish I watched the game as much as possible, not so MC doing baby races and tic tac toe games during a freaking time out. Basketball time out suppose to be 60 seconds long.

[Johnny Firpo]

“I used to hate Luka until I seen him play. I’m like this mother******g white boy, alright.”
Why did he hate Luka until he watched him play? Is hate just the default setting here?

I mean, he literally says why. It's the same reason why no superstar publicly congratulated Jokic on his MVPS, to this day (definitely not the first two). Black players feel this is their game from a cultural standpoint, and they feel that a white player being good is cultural appropriation (they don't literally think that, but they feel it that way). You can see it with Caitlin Clark. Black fans also tend to hate white players, Jokic and Luka are generally hated by a large percentage of black fans, unless we are talking about Nuggets, Mavs and now Lakers fans.

Obviously not saying all black fans hate them, but a pretty large percentage of them do. If you check any Facebook post praising them, like 90% of the laughing smileys on it will be by black fans. By the way, just to hopefully avoid any of you thinking this to be a loaded message, I'm literally a huge liberal. I'm not at all saying this is blatant racism or even textbook racism, it's not really, and no, it's not the same thing as a white person hating someone for their dark skin color. This is more of a cultural thing, black people have been historically oppressed and face racism to this day, and mostly - but not certainly not just - by white people.

So obviously it's not the same. It's cultural, because sport and music were historically the avenues where the culture found success and power and maybe even something close to equality (black athletes and musicians had a chance to become really big, really special). So when a talented white person gets recognition in those fields, and they compete for awards and recognition, black fans and black peers tend to not give into the praise very easily.