Shaquille O’Neal On The Dallas Mavericks: “They Need A Guy That’s Just As Good As Luka But A Little Bit Better. Like A Bradley Beal Or Russell Westbrook.”
Regardless of how flawed Luka Doncic is, there is no doubt that he is one of the best young players in the game. With an exceptional talent at scoring and making plays, he has emerged as the new face for the Dallas Mavericks in this post-Dirk Nowitzki era.
And while he’s easily a top-10 player to many fans today, it turns out that not everybody sees him as a transcendent superstar.
In a segment on “Inside The NBA,” NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal said the Mavs need someone “better” than Doncic, someone like Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal…
“They need a guy that’s just as good as Luka but a little bit better…like a Bradley Beal or Russell Westbrook.”
– Shaq on the Mavericks pic.twitter.com/KNarMISlq5
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) February 5, 2021
Obviously, Doncic still has a ways to go before he can be put in the same breath as some of the other elites. On things like defense and leadership, there is room for growth and it’s unlikely the Mavs will win until he improves in those areas.
But to say he’s not better than Beal and Westbrook, even at this point, is a super hot take. In just a little over two seasons in the NBA, he is seeing averages of 25 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game on 46.1% shooting.
In the comments, fans reacted about as extreme as you’d expect…
Stat padding luka. Keep that same energy y’all had for Russ with luka.
— Raveon Hoston (@SuperStarRayy) February 5, 2021
Did he just say Westbrook is better than Luka??
— Jose (@BullsFanJose) February 5, 2021
Like russel Westbrook pic.twitter.com/j4qVKbb2f2
— Shannon Sharpe Burner Account (@SSharpeBurner_) February 5, 2021
westbrook?
— (@netsgotnexxt) February 5, 2021
None of those guys are better than Luka lol
— Jacob Awada (@AwadaJacob) February 5, 2021
Westbrook isn’t even a top 5 point guard, not to mention he no where near Luka’s level at this point
— Kyrie Irving/Houston Rockets fan (@biasedkyriefan) February 5, 2021
Fun fact
Luka >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>both
— Stevie Wonder1369 (@wonder1369) February 5, 2021
Did he say a little bit better pic.twitter.com/uS5OPIOJwX
— Mike Honcho (@Jessed4D) February 5, 2021
There were some that agreed with O’Neal but, all in all, it’s a pretty bold opinion.
Then again, if the Mavericks continue to lose gaame sat their current pace, we might have to re-assess where Doncic lies on the NBA’s player hierarchy.
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