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Shaquille O’Neal went in on Kevin Durant and asked him “what did you do in the Play-Offs?” following the revelation of KD’s decision to stay with the Brooklyn Nets.
Kevin Durant is widely regarded as one of the best players in the game right now and sometimes even makes the conversation for one of the greatest players in NBA history, however there is often an argument made against him because of his career other than his spell with the Golden State Warriors.
While Durant has indeed won two back-to-back Championships with the Golden State Warriors, his career, his spells with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Brooklyn Nets have one thing in common.
Despite reaching the NBA Play-Offs, both the franchises with Durant as their main man could not go one step further that they did, and win the coveted NBA Championship.
Hence despite having a celebrated spell with the Golden State Warriors where he won back-to-back Championships and an MVP award alongside Steph Curry, KD is often subjected to allegations of not being able to guide a franchise to victory in the NBA all by himself.
Shaquille O’Neal became the latest to put forward the aforementioned argument.
Shaq went in on the Brooklyn Nets man and asked him his contribution in the Play-Offs with both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Nets.
When discussing the Nets’ statement about KD continuing with the Nets even after handing in a trade request earlier in the summer, Shaq said: “As a superstar, you gotta look in the mirror. What did you do? What did you do in the Play-Offs?”
Shaq was likely referring to the 2021/22 NBA Play-Offs where the Nets led by Durant could only win a single game. More than that, when asked about Charles Barkley calling KD an ‘abject failure’ on The Big Podcast with Nischelle Turner and Spice James, Shaq said: “Chuck was absolutely right,” and explained his perspective.
“If you go back and look at his career as the best player and being the leader, all of that goes with that. We were there, we saw it. OKC 3-1 up, one more game. And when you’re the guy, all the pressure goes on you. A lot of people were talking about the bus driver, and Chuck was absolutely right – you were not driving the bus at Golden State” said Shaq.