Kevin Durant says Shaquille O'Neal "doesn't know ball" after latter's criticism of Rui Hachimura trade
Kevin Durant made sure to get his licks in on Shaquille O'Neal this week while the internet collectively roasted the Hall of Famer for not knowing Rui Hachimura. While O'Neal has caught heat for his takes in the past, this week he had KD questioning whether he even knew ball at all.
During this week's installment of Inside The NBA, Charles Barkley gave Shaq's Lakers props after the team traded for the budding young star. Shaq responded by saying that he wished the Lakers had gone out and traded for Bradley Beal rather than trading for Hachimura.
Given that Beal would undoubtedly fetch a higher asking price than the three second-round picks and Kendrick Nunn, many clowned the LA Lakers legend. In his defense, he controversially stated that if you aren't a top 10 player in the league, then he doesn't know who you are. Now that Hachimura is on the Lakers, O'Neal knows who he is, simple as that.
Kevin Durant wasn't buying it, he took to Twitter to react to O'Neal's claim by taking a jab at the four-time NBA champ.
Shaquille doesn’t know ball? twitter.com/legionhoops/st…
As many were quick to point out, O'Neal is quite the 'casual' when it comes to only watching the biggest players and the biggest games. As he's admitted in the past, he has never claimed to watch all 30 NBA teams.
Kevin Durant and Shaquille O'Neal's past beef
Back when Kevin Durant was a member of the Golden State Warriors, he and the team caught criticism from O'Neal. The back-and-forth took place during the 2016-17 season, when the Hall of Famer and JaVale McGee were engaged in a lengthy Twitter beef.
It all started when Shaq used McGee as the subject in one of his Shaqtin A Fool segments, but this time O'Neal didn't pull any punches. After McGee caught wind of the situation, he quickly took to Twitter to defend himself, sparking a back-and-forth online where O'Neal threatened to smack the center.
When Kevin Durant was asked about the situation at the time during a media scrum he made sure to get some of his own jabs in at the Hall of Famer, calling him childish.
“Everybody can’t be Shaq. He’s trying to make his money and enjoy the game of basketball, and his perception of him is that he’s a ‘dumb’ player because he makes mistakes on the court.
"Shaq was a sh---y free-throw shooter. He missed dunks. He air-balled free throws. He couldn’t shoot outside the paint. He was bigger than everybody. He didn’t have any skill. But he was bigger and stronger than everybody.”
With how often Shaq criticizes players, it will be interesting to see how he continues to handle the ongoing memes after not knowing Hachimura. As the budding young star continues to contribute to the Laker's playoff hopes, O'Neal has already been put on notice.
Below you can see some of Hachimura's highlights from his debut with the Lakers, just six days after recording a 30-point game with the Wizards.
(Suggested Reading: When Shaq suspected Phil Jackson was a drug user)