Shaquille O’Neal Stands Firm on Victor Wembanyama-Bol Bol Statement

The retired NBA legend and TNT analyst doesn’t believe the 19-year-old Frenchman is one of a kind.

Shaquille O’Neal is not changing his mind about his recent comparison of Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama to Suns center Bol Bol.

During a segment of TNT’s Inside the NBA following the Spurs’ victory against the Suns earlier this month, O’Neal pushed back on Reggie Miller’s analysis of the 7’4” French star being in a league of his own in regard to his skill set. Conversely, O’Neal said Miller has indeed seen an athlete like Wemby–in the 7’3” Bol.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg, O’Neal said he has no plans of changing his viewpoint that Wemby and Bol boast similar skills.

“No, I’m not because if you listen to what I said, I said you guys are acting like Wemby is the first 7-foot-5 player that dribble coast to coast, put it between his legs and shot a three [pointer],” O’Neal said. “[Wembanyama] is not. Bol Bol is the first. I never compared the two. I just said you guys act like you’ve never seen it before, but you have. You’ve seen Bol Bol do it.”

In the Spurs’ victory against the Suns on Nov. 2, Wembanyama became the first player to total 85 points, 35 rebounds and 10 blocks in his first five NBA games since O’Neal did so in 1992.