Here’s why Shaquille O’Neal thinks the NBA season should be canceled
Shaquille O’Neal might have lost some fans with this one.
Big Diesel recently sat down with For The Win to talk about how the NBA should handle the suspended season. His position was rather surprising.
“I think we should scrap the season,” O’Neal said in the interview published Saturday. “Everybody go home, get healthy, come back next year. Just scrap the season. Just scrap it.”
O’Neal later added that whoever wins a NBA title wouldn’t necessarily get the respect as champions deserve.
“To try and come back now and do a rush playoffs as a player? Any team that wins this year, there’s an asterisk. They’re not going to get the respect. What if a team that’s not really in the mix of things all of a sudden wins with a new playoff format? Nobody is going to respect that. So, scrap it. Worry about the safety of the fans and the people. Come back next year.”
Though Shaq is entitled to his opinion, it should be noted that not many players agree. Thunder guard Chris Paul told Oklahoma City media in early May that players want to return as soon as possible.
“We just want to play,” said Paul, who also serves as president of the NBA Players Association. “... We’re trying to figure out what that looks like.”
Additionally, LeBron James made headlines in late April when he tweeted that the NBA should finish the season.
While there has been some talk about the NBA possibly resuming play in Las Vegas or at Walt Disney World in Orlando, there’s no telling when it will actually return. For now, baby steps — like teams reopening their practice facilities — are key. That’s why reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers both reopened their facilities Friday are rather encouraging. The Miami Heat plans to begin workouts as early as Wednesday.
