Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the most dominant players in NBA history, and even after he retired, we haven’t seen anyone who was able to dominate opponents and teams in the same manner. A player like Shaq is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and you could argue he would be even more unstoppable with how the game is played right now. Unlike Shaq, centers no longer play in the post as they used to but rely on their shooting to get minutes and therefore secure big contracts within the league.
Shaq thinks most NBA players now are heavily overpaid
In a recent interview for Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, Shaq commented on the enormous contracts that teams are giving out to players nowadays without them actually being as good as their lucrative contracts. Shaq is known as someone who speaks his mind and rarely holds back, and this time it wasn’t any different when he talked about how much he would make in today’s NBA while at the same time taking a subtle diss at the current generation of NBA players.
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“I would be $600 million. These bumps are making $600 million for two years. I would be making $200 million a year, and I am telling you, that is what I would make. I wish I was playing now against these little cupcakes. I wish I was playing, I swear.”
There is no question Shaq would be a supermax player in this era
Shaq obviously said something that wouldn’t sit well, especially with some younger NBA fans who see today’s players as heroes. There were multiple times when he was critical of today’s players for their “soft” mentality, but to be fair, he also mentioned there are a lot of guys he loves to watch play and admires them like any other legend of the game.
The reality is that NBA players are making more money than ever because the league has done a great job promoting and marketing its product all over the globe. The players are now smarter than ever in negotiating a better and more lucrative deal for themselves. On top of that, they have numerous business opportunities at their disposal. If Shaq was actually playing in today’s NBA, there is no question that he would be the top candidate for the highest paid player on top of the fact that he would receive shoe deals worth several million dollars, if not even more.
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