It is not uncommon for players and the media to disagree over what they witness in the NBA night to night, and when it comes to NBA podcaster Bill Simmons, Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett took issue with Simmons’ claims that fellow Hall of Famer and Celtics alum Shaquille O’Neal was a lazy star who played out of shape for most of his career in the league.
And when the Big Ticket made a guest appearance on Simmons’ eponymous podcast, according to the Basketball Network’s Damien Peters, Garnett made sure to let the Ringer jefe know just what he thought about that take. “You didn’t play against Shaq,” he began.
Advertisement
“Shaq’s power is brute strength,” continued Garnett. “Once he got to the (Los Angeles) Lakers, he was on some Superman, Ironman, putting everybody in the basket (stuff), and that was all predicated off of (Lakers head coach) Phil (Jackson), telling him to build himself up that you’re stronger coming down the Playoffs.”

NBA Western Conference starters (L-R) Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, Gary Payton of the Seattle Supersonics and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers wait their turn on the court during the morning practice session at the Jacob Javits Convention Center during the 1998 All-Star Weekend 07 February. The NBA All-Star Game will takes place 08 February at Madison Square Garden in New York. AFP PHOTO Timothy A. Clary (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
“He looked out of shape; he still averaged 25, 12, and something else,” explained the Celtics champ. “Get the (expletive) out of here.”
“That’s not out of shape. When you’re out of shape, you’re not scoring 25 a night.” In print, that’s a convincing argument. We have to imagine with KG’s intensity in person backing it up, Simmons may well have been rethinking his take on Shaq as well.
Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:
Advertisement
Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Kevin Garnett once took Bill Simmons to task for his critique of Shaq