Shaquille O’Neal makes stunning admission about his Lakers tenure in NBA Finals advice to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
SHAQUILLE O'Neal made a jaw-dropping confession about his days with the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The NBA icon O'Neal made the admission while speaking about Boston Celtics superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
After the Celtics' Game 1 blowout win, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd shifted the conversation to Boston after saying he thought Brown was the team's best player.
Kidd made the comments on Saturday after Brown scored 22 points along with six rebounds, three blocks, three steals, and two assists in Game 1 while Tatum recorded 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.
On Sunday, O'Neal appeared on NBA TV's pregame coverage of Game 2 in Boston.
The 52-year-old shared that Tatum and Brown shouldn't be caring about "titles" made by others, seemingly referencing Kidd's remarks, while also confessing about his own NBA career.
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"In my Lakers' runs, I wasn't the best player on the team, I knew that... If these two young gentleman are worried about useless titles...not only will it affect this game, but they will lose the series," O'Neal said.
The NBA Hall of Famer was referencing when he was a Laker alongside the late Kobe Bryant.
O'Neal and Bryant were a key part of the Lakers' three-peat.
While with Los Angeles for nine seasons, O'Neal averaged 26.2 points per game while Bryant averaged 21.6 points per game over the same span.
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Tatum was asked about Kidd's words on the same day.
"This is a team sport," Tatum said, per NBA reporter Justin Turpin.
"We understand that. We wouldn’t be here if he didn’t have (Jaylen) on our team... We understand people try to drive a wedge in between us. It’s a smart thing to try and do."
"But we’ve been in this position for many years, of guys trying to divide us and say one of us should be traded, or one is better than the other.
"It’s not our first time at the rodeo."
Brown, who won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award over Tatum in a 5-4 vote, didn't reveal too much commentary on Kidd's remarks.
"I have no reaction," Brown said, per Forbes. “I don’t know, it’s a team game. We’re trying to focus on that and everybody has their own opinions."
Brown has been phenomenal in the playoffs, averaging 24.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 36.6 percent from downtown.
Tatum hasn't been too shabby either, averaging 25.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in the postseason.
The two have been teammates for seven seasons and will continue to be in the discussion of which Celtics player is the leader of the team.
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Tatum has made it to the All-Star team five times while Brown has four All-Star appearances.
Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Mavs and Celtics will begin on Sunday at 8:00 pm ET in Boston.