Shaquille O’Neal slaps Celtics with harsh ‘overrated’ review amid title hopes

The Celtics seem to need to convince Shaq during the postseason for him to become a believer.

NBA Legend & TNT Analyst Shaquille O'Neal isn't high on the Boston Celtics' title hopes as the 2024 NBA Playoffs loom.
Shaquille O’Neal isn’t high on the Celtics’s title hopes as the playoffs loom. On the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal, Adam Lefkoe asked O’Neal which team he’s hearing will win a championship but he doesn’t see it. He didn’t hesitate to say the Boston Celtics.

When Lefkoe brought up that they have the best record in the NBA, O’Neal said, “Yeah, but you gotta show me. I’ve been in this league, around the league a long time. I’ve seen a lot of guys that have had great regular season, but they don’t win championships.”

Lefkoe then went on to make the point that other great players, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić, and their teams have gone through similar circumstances before they finally won a title.

“Giannis didn’t make it, and then he did and, he won it. Jokic didn’t make it, and then he did and, he won it. So we have had two teams where it was, Oh, they’re a regular season team. What do you think happens to go to take a regular season team like that, or a player like Giannis and Jokic, and then suddenly make the leap to championship?”

O’Neal answered his question, saying, “Consistency and dominate consistency. Got to do more every game. You got to go to another level…but you have to go to another level and then you need optional others to have out of worldly games.”

Ironically enough, O’Neal’s NBA Finals pick to start the season was the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks have not had a great regular season, ultimately firing new head coach Adrian Griffin to bring in Doc Rivers shortly before the All-Star Break.

The Bucks haven’t seemed to click like the Celtics have this season, especially with the additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis. But still, O’Neal was high on the Bucks and believed that they should use the In-Season season to send a message leading into the playoffs.

Shaquille O'Neal Calls The Boston Celtics The Most Overrated Team In The NBA - Fadeaway World

“This team is built for championships, you have a great big-man, you have a great closer—a guy who is a great free-throw shooter—and you have two others who can give you a high point games in Middleton and Lopez…They should start sending the messages now,” said O’Neal. “If you can win the in-season tournament and then the Larry O’Brien that just shows everyone that you have really been focused all season. … They have the perfect championship team.”

Yet, the Celtics stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league. They currently sit as the best team in the NBA with at 62-17 record. They’ve clinched homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and are led by Jayson Tatum, who’s had another MVP-esque season averaging 27 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assist while shooting 37.9% from the free throw line.

It appears that the Celtics will have to make a believer out of Shaq in the postseason for him to be a believer.