Inside The Spurs

Los Angeles Lakers Legend Takes Shot at Victor Wembanyama

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal did not hold back on San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama

Matt Guzman

Mar 7, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks on from the bench during the fourth quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.
Mar 7, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks on from the bench during the fourth quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. / Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images
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SAN ANTONIO β€” Shaquille O'Neal's philosophy is ... interesting.

After a prolific 19-year NBA career, the 7-foot legend settled down as a TV analyst for TNT's league coverage. In his spare time, he frequents commercials and even moonlights as "D.J. Diesel" in college towns across the United States.

Or, sometimes, he'll air out his opinions on podcasts.

On a recent episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," the former Los Angeles Lakers star offered his two cents on the ongoing MVP debate, specifically regarding any potential case LeBron James has.

"What do we think about the 'LeBron MVP' Discussion?" he was asked.

"Ever since I lost two MVPs, I have no idea what the criteria is," O'Neal began. "I always thought it meant you're the baddest m**********r in the league."

The 7-footer went on to disagree with the correlation between individual and team success, but went further than just the MVP Award.

"You say (Victor) Wembanyama is the Defensive Player of the Year, right?" he asked. "Well, his team is 20 games under .500. How are you the Defensive Player of the Year and your team isn't even f***ing winning?"

This season, Wembanyama averaged a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game and still holds the crown for most total blocks, ahead of Brook Lopez by 48. His defensive rating and sheer disturbance of opposing offenses puts him atop the list, as it likely will for a majority of his career.

O'Neal went on to name Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his top two MVP candidates before admitting he doesn't watch James or the Los Angeles Lakers; his statement comes a few weeks after he admitted to not watching the "boring" Detroit Pistons.

At the very least, it appears he keeps up with Wembanyama and the Spurs. But like it's been in the past, there weren't many positives he had to offer up about the 21-year-old.

That's not likely to change.

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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