Shaquille O'Neal likes Devin Booker showing respect to Klay Thompson after trash talk: “I love David Robinson but I got to go at you, I love you Mr. Patrick Ewing but I gotta kill you"
Shaquille O'Neal liked what he saw from Devin Booker after his trash talking incident with Klay Thompson. O'Neal praised Booker for bringing it into the game and for showing Thompson respect in his postgame interview.
On a recent episode of "Inside the NBA," the crew of Shaq, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson discussed Thompson's first career ejection. O'Neal loved that Booker didn't back down and had a great game in the Phoenix Suns' win over the Golden State Warriors.
The former MVP also discussed Booker's postgame comments about how he looked up to Thompson early in his career. O'Neal even compared it to when he was battling legends such as Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing.
"Devin Booker, I liked what he said, 'I love Klay, I respect Klay,'" O'Neal said. "I always had this problem too, but not really a problem. I love David Robinson, but I gotta go at you. I love Mr. Patrick Ewing, but I gotta kill you. Hakeem, I love you, I can't kill you, but I wanna catch up to you one day."
Shaquille O'Neal added that Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns looked good in their 134-105 win over the Golden State Warriors. Booker led the Suns with 34 points and seven assists.
"I'm glad he's out there competing," Shaq said. "He's playing well and they looked good tonight."
The game was pretty close until Klay Thompson was ejected in the third quarter. The Suns were just up, 81-76, but their lead grew and eventually won by 29 points. Mikal Bridges and Jock Landale had 17 points each, while DeAndre Ayton put up 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Chris Paul had a solid game, with 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. On the other hand, Steph Curry had 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors. Jordan Poole finished with 17 points off the bench.
What did Devin Booker say about Klay Thompson after the game?
Klay Thompson and Devin Booker had an argument in the third quarter, leading referee Ed Malloy to call a double technical foul. Malloy separated the players, but Thompson went at the official. Malloy called a second technical foul on Thompson, who was ejected for the first time in his career.
Thompson taunted the Suns' bench while walking towards the locker room. Meanwhile, Booker took the high road after the Phoenix Suns demolished the Golden State Warriors. Booker praised Thompson after the game and explained that it was just old school trash talking, nothing personal.
"I love Klay Thompson and I have from the beginning," Booker said. "From the draft, coming out, I said I want to be like Klay Thompson. That doesn't excuse us from competing against each other and talking a little mess with each other. Had fun with it, a big fan of his and his competitive nature, and that's that."
The Warriors and Suns will play each other three more times this season, so expect more fireworks from both sides.