Getty Shaquille O'Neal and Magic Johnson attend a 2018 preseason game between the Golden State Warriors and the LA Lakers.
It became clear pretty early in the 2021-22 season that the Golden State Warriors were on to something once again. However, some hoops pundits clearly made the bandwagon jump earlier than others.
For his part, Hall of Famer, LA Lakers legend and Inside the NBA star Shaquille O’Neal was one of those early adopters. And during a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, O’Neal served up yet another sterling endorsement of the Splash Brothers and their crew.
“That’s one of my favorite teams,” the big man said of the Warriors. “Because my favorite player plays on the team and they play the right way… Move the ball, everybody’s getting involved, the crowd involved, everybody involved… When everybody’s involved and the city’s involved, you’re gonna win. You can’t do no wrong.”
He went on to issue the following proclamation: “Golden State will win the championship this year. I’m guaranteeing it.”
Shaq Makes a Big Bet on the Dubs
“Golden State will win the championship this year. I’m guaranteeing it.” 🗣
@SHAQ doubles down on the @warriors winning the title on this week’s episode of #TheBigPodcast: t.co/6oWKz1Pqtd
Shaq made it clear that his guarantee wasn’t just idle chatter or the ramblings of a podcaster trying to fill an hour; he actually means it. Per the four-time champion’s appraisal, no one is keeping the Warriors from getting out of the West and marching to the Larry O’Brien Trophy; not even the league-leading Phoenix Suns.
In fact, he’s so confident in the Warriors’ ability to beat the Suns, that he’s willing to put his money — or, rather, his bare anatomy — where his mouth is.
“Let’s place a bet on it,” he said to co-host Nischelle Turner, who favors Phoenix. “Let’s do something crazy and embarrassing… If the Suns beat Golden State, I will walk two blocks with Suns written on my ass, aight? …And I will post it live on Instagram. I’ll walk two blocks.”
Wowzers.
Shaq also had this to say about what the Warriors have put together in the Bay Area:
“They’ve got two of the best shooters in the damn game. Everybody is trying to match them and you don’t have those caliber players… Not only have they won they’ve won multiple times.”
O’Neal further referred to Golden state as being “unstoppable” now with Klay Thompson back in the fold.
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Steph Is Relieved That His Three-Point Chase Is Over
On Tuesday, The Athletic published a Shams Charania interview with Warriors star Stephen Curry. In it, Curry was asked about taking down Ray Allen as the NBA’s all-time, three-point king and his response left little doubt that he has been unburdened by breaking the record.
“It’s weird, because I’m still feeling the emotions of that. It was so emotional with the lead-up and all of that. It’s nice to have that weight off my shoulder and just enjoy the way that I play the game,” he said.
“Every three that I make now is a new record, which is kind of funny, but I still have a lot of gratitude for all the people that celebrated it with me.”
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