"I’m puttin’ an end to all that s**t" - Shaquille O'Neal shuts down notion of Chet Holmgren being dubbed as 'phenomenal' already
Legendary NBA big man Shaquille O’Neal has set his sights on rookie Chet Holmgren, expressing critical comments about the young player. During a recent episode of “The Big Podcast,” ‘The Diesel’ dismissed the notion of Holmgren being labeled as “phenomenal.”
Despite Holmgren’s impressive rookie season with the OKC Thunder, O’Neal emphasized the importance of players putting in the work before being given such accolades.
"Y’all throwin’ around words that we had to work hard for," O'Neal said. "Phenomenal’s not the right word…He’s good, but don’t be going ‘promising’ and ‘great’ and ‘future Hall of Famer.’”
"Startin’ today, I’m puttin’ an end to all that s**t. I am, startin’ today. Y’all can’t just be giving these people things who ain’t put in no work.”
Shaq said players should demonstrate sustained consistency over several years, not just in brief stretches of games, before being assigned specific labels.
"Phenomenal is the wrong word,” he said. ”And you can’t use dominant unless he does it for a consistent amount of time. I’m not talkin’ two or three games. I’m talkin’ years."
In the first 29 games of his NBA career, Holmgren averaged 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.5 assists, becoming a key piece to the 20-9 Thunder’s early success with his two-way play.
Having sat out the entire previous season due to a Lisfranc injury, Holmgren still has plenty of time to change O’Neal’s mind about him.
O’Neal’s scrutiny of emerging big men in the NBA is not new, as he has made critical remarks about other players, such as Dwight Howard and Rudy Gobert.
How dominant was Shaquille O’Neal throughout his NBA career?
Shaquille O’Neal was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 following his retirement in 2011. He had career averages of 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
The first overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft, O’Neal made an instant impact, winning Rookie of the Year in 1993 after averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. He guided the Orlando Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals.
Upon joining the LA Lakers, Shaq formed a formidable duo with Kobe Bryant and won three consecutive titles. O’Neal was the Finals MVP in each of those championships.
He put up 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in his Lakers tenure, which spanned eight seasons.
He later moved on to Miami, where he secured another NBA championship in 2006.
Shaq, a 15-time All-Star, amassed an impressive 14 All-NBA team selections, three NBA All-Defensive Team selections, and two scoring titles throughout his career.