Shaquille O’Neal fires back at Zion Williamson for dissing his advice: ‘He ain’t ready yet’

Some players crack over the pressure of living up to their potential, and Zion Williamson might be the case. The Pelicans star started out as the first overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft and even though he’s shown glimpses of his dominating talent, he’s yet to led New Orleans to title contention.

The young star’s supposed lack of commitment to condition and fitness has become his most constant criticism, as fans and experts perceive this by his unwillingness to change his body type. The scrutiny has been led in recent weeks by Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.

The “Inside the NBA” hosts first criticized Zion’s attitude when the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Pelicans from the In-Season Tournament at the start of the month. The player, once he heard what they said, decided to ignore their advice because he thought it didn’t come from a healthy place.

"We only criticize people that we like. We only criticize people that we believe in." 💯

Shaq and Chuck respond to Zion's message about their criticisms pic.twitter.com/tz2rf4KCFB

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 20, 2023

The former legends turned basketball analysts couldn’t believe the player dissed their “counseling,” and decided to rant against the New Orleans forward one more time during his team’s clash with Memphis this Tuesday night.

“When it comes to being a dominant big man, I am the authority, I am the go-to guy,” O’Neal started out. “I sat there and watched him, you know, I said he doesn’t run hard, he doesn’t create easy baskets for himself and it looked like he’s not ready. That was me telling him ‘If you do this, you can get to the next level.'”

This 2023/24 campaign, Williamson has been averaging 22.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per match on 58.3% overall shooting. Compared to the 29 games he played last season, he’s lowered the bar in every department.

“We only criticize people that we like, we only criticize people that we believe in,” Shaq insisted, while his co-host said that it doesn’t really matter where the advice comes from. “Why would he worry about where it’s coming from?” It’s coming from a place… like, we want him to be great,” Barkley said.

Zion had said that he couldn’t control “what no grown man do,” and implied he wasn’t going to pay attention to their advice

Williamson’s response came after a dominant 36-point performance with a 13-of-17 shooting display that contributed to the Pelicans’ win over the powerful Minnesota Timberwolves. An empowered All-Star then took the microphone and said he wasn’t going to pay attention to the Hall of Famers’ criticism.

“At the end of the day, I can’t control what no grown man do,” Zion said last week. “I can’t control what no grown adult does. All I can do is control the things I can control, lock in on myself, lock in on my teammates, coaches and everybody with Pelicans, the city and try to win.”

O’Neal believes that the New Orleans star is not ready to become a great player because he isn’t mature enough to listen to the voice of experience.”If you say something about me and I don’t get mad, that mean I’m not ready. His response is telling me he ain’t ready.

“I would’ve been like ‘F— Shaq and Charles, watch this for the rest of the season.’ That’s how you respond. Because actually when I say certain things, I’m egging you on to see what you’re gonna do. It’s all about that look and he still don’t have that look today,” Shaquille explained.