Phoenix Suns marquee big man, Deandre Ayton is averaging 17.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in the 2022-23 season. Yet he has not managed to impressive four-time NBA Champ, Shaquille O’Neal, especially after Deandre was unable to lead his team against the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks.
Shaq recently went on to lash Deandre Ayton for not being able to stamp his dominance on the NBA hardwood despite having more athleticism, height, and agility. Yet Ayton has come second best in the 2022-23 season.
Shaquille O’Neal said, “No excuses for missing them baby jumpers… You got to dominate! You’re the biggest guy out there…they’re not doubling you like, Chuck got doubled. They’re not tripling you as Shaq got tripled. You’re one-on-one. You publicly say that “hey I’d like to be more involved”, you have fights with the coach and other players. When you get your chance to be involved you have to dominate.”
Shaq on Deandre Ayton
If one thinks about it, Shaq might seem a bit upfront with his take on Deandre Ayton yet there is no doubt that Diesel has a point here.
Ever since Devin Booker has been sidelined due to an injury, the Phoenix Suns rely on Deandre Ayton to shoulder the scoring load for them while the former is out. Safe to say, the spoken-off big man didn’t exactly rise up to the challenge. Hopefully, we see Ayton step up offensively going forward, and show that he can be a dominant interior scorer.
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