“Give Me The Ball Now”: Shaquille O’Neal Puts Forth An Anthony Edwards Hypothetical Narrating His Ascension Over The ‘Old Guard’

The explosive growth of Anthony Edwards has turned him into a prime contender for the new face of the NBA. After all, his rise has arguably aided in him surpassing ‘The Old Guards’ of the league, such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. Recently, Shaquille O’Neal has aligned himself with the debatable narrative while promoting a hypothetical scenario to highlight Ant’s ascension.

The situation circled a fan post from Rob Perez on X (formerly Twitter). Edwards’ playoff heroics injected hope into his heart ahead of Team USA’s much-awaited endeavors 2024 Paris Olympics. Consequently, he expected Ant to become the talismanic figure even in a roster filled with multiple NBA champions.

The fan wrote, “There is going to be a time this summer when Team USA is on the verge of losing a colossal upset, and Anthony Edwards is going to look LeBron [James], Steph [Curry], KD [Kevin Durant] in the eyes and say “give me the ball. now””.

This hypothetical scenario excited the fans, prompting Ballislife to upload a screenshot of the post on Instagram. The subsequent post also generated a decent enough buzz before catching the eyes of Shaq. The 4x champion interestingly agreed with the narrative as he shared the post from his Instagram story to display his support.

Amidst the dramatic plot associated with the entire situation, its feasibility remains a major possibility. After all, the world saw an early glimpse of Ant’s self-confidence during the 2023 FIBA World Cup. When Head Coach Steve Kerr told him to come off the bench during the games, the Minnesota Timberwolves star indirectly disagreed.

Later on, as per CBS Sports, he publicly declared, “I  mean, of course I wasn’t cool with it. If that’s what it takes, I mean, I am willing to do it, but nah, I’m never cool with that. … He said Dwyane Wade came off the bench when Kobe played. I was like, all right, we don’t have a Kobe, but all right. But it was cool”.

So, the fan prediction could well become true in the coming months. Edwards has shown time and again that he can be relied upon in the defining moments of the game. Additionally, if he aids in his franchise surpassing the expectations in the playoffs, the narrative is bound to gain momentum.

Keeping this in mind, Shaquille O’Neal shared his advice

Edwards’ surge has fans reminiscing about a player with whom Ant has a lot in common, MJ. Thus, a comparison between them turned into a prominent narrative in recent times, building pressure on the shoulders of Edwards. Till now, the latter has thrived under this pressure, justifying the attention around him.

However, Shaq wanted him to take a different route. In a recent episode of The Big Podcast, he mentioned, “Forget MJ. He needs to be Ant-Edwards. And I’m not telling him how to think but when I was coming in, especially a guy they used to tell wasn’t good enough. But I tell them, they start comparing names, I was like, ‘F**k everybody.’ You going to know my name”.

So, if the golden opportunity presents itself to Ant in the Paris Olympics, he must react like he always has. The 22-year-old will need to bring his A-game to the competition, foregoing the expectations around him.

However, all these remain a long shot at this stage. The youngster stays solely focused on getting his hands on his first-ever championship title. After all, he will certainly love to receive the ball in the last possession as a fellow NBA champion.