Shaquille O’Neal does not hesitate whenever there is a debate about the physicality in the NBA. This time, he went into an argument with JJ Redick when the former Clippers sharpshooter made a blunder and stated that the modern NBA has “incredible physicality” though not consistent. O’Neal vehemently disagreed. Redick even labeled Shaq as a “hater” considering his scathing criticism of modern elite Centers. The 3x Finals MVP denied the charge and argued that he can’t consider someone a great Center in today’s league because they don’t go through the same amount of physicality as he did in the 1990s. However, he gave some names who could have survived that era.
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On ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq’, along with JJ Redick, the 2000 MVP wondered if the modern elite Centers could have survived his era. He cited himself as someone who transcended the competition of his era which had greats like Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and Hakeem Olajuwon. However, he doesn’t see a similar spark in the high-caliber big men today. On the other hand, he also stated that the 2023 Finals MVP Nikola Jokic could have survived in his era because he is proficient both as a jump-shooter and inside finisher,
“When I started dominating, you know with all these guys they bringing in if they couldn’t have played with us, that’s how I judge them. Joker I think, he could have played with us because he has the ability to go inside outside.”
Thus, for Shaq, except for the Nuggets superstar Center, the rest wouldn’t be able to keep up with the top-notch Centers of his era. The former Lakers superstar posited that since his era had a relentless flow of flagrant fouls, the current ones would have been overwhelmed. Redick argued that while the previous eras were rife with flagrant fouls, that aspect is not within the norms of basketball.
JJ Redick and Shaquille O’Neal continued their polarizing debate
O’Neal argued that back in his day, Centers like Bill Laimbeer could “clothesline” opposition players, thus striking fear in them. However, for Redick, there is a difference between a “hard foul” and a “flagrant foul”. Just because the league was less strict on flagrant fouls in the 1980s and 1990s, it didn’t imply that physicality was necessary within the game’s laws.
The former Mavericks guard then brought out the example of LeBron James complaining about a potential missed call for an and-one while driving to the rim during the Nuggets series. For him, his complaint was regarding a foul that falls within the purview of the game action,
“I think there’s a distinction between fouling and actual gameplay. If you go play a game and you go get a bucket, you see it last night in that Denver game, LeBron’s complaining about an And-One, that is gameplay. Bill Laimbeer clothslining someone, that’s a flagrant foul but it’s a foul.”
After sparring upon the subject for some time, the two remained steadfast in their positions. Redick doesn’t feel that just because an era had more flagrant fouls, it makes it better, in terms of physicality. Meanwhile, the former big man feels that the Centers of his era had gone through more rigorous contact, rendering their operations more difficult.
