Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal shared his thoughts about the upcoming NBA return. He believes players will have to make some adjustments once they get in Orlando to start the 22-team tournament at Walt Disney World. The former center claimed it won’t be easy for players to be in the bubble for two months without being able to leave and eating the same food every day.
“It is going to be difficult for those guys to be inside that bubble, nobody can leave and eat the same food every day,” O’Neal said on Da Windy City podcast (H/T Fan Sided).
“To be a great player it’s all about the physical attributes and the mental attributes, but it’s also about routine so guys are definitely going to have to adjust. My routine was going to shootaround and coming home and seeing my beautiful family. Seeing them get ready, coming out to play the game, making sure they got there safe, looking at fans,” O’Neal said.
“It’s going to be difficult on a lot of aspects. If I was playing it would be very difficult for me to play without fans.”
Moreover, Shaq talked about the team that is going to win the championship in October. O’Neal said he would have an asterisk against the 2020 NBA champion.
“It’s an asterisk baby. It will count for some people, but I’m not changing my opinion,” he added.
This is not the first time he makes these claims. Back in May, he told the league to ‘scrap’ the season without having an asterisk champion.
“I think we should scrap the season. Everybody go home, get healthy, come back next year. Just scrap the season. Just scrap it,” O’Neal told the newspaper.
“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.”
He has strong beliefs about what the league should’ve done in this situation. The front office didn’t listen to him, though, and we’re set to see the return of the league next July 31.
