Banned NBA Referee Claims Russell Westbrook Mirrors Shaquille O’Neal

Russell Westbrook is having a hard time this season with the Lakers. Former Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal recently gave Westbrook a piece of advice to improve his game. However, Ken Mauer, who has officiated over 1500 games in his career, claimed that Russ replicates Shaq on the court.

The Lakers signed Westbrook in a blockbuster deal during the off-season, but the former MVP has failed to live up to the expectations. There were rumors of him leaving his hometown during the trade window earlier this month. However, that couldn’t happen as GM Rob Pelinka wasn’t satisfied with the trade.

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Shaquille O’Neal has criticized Westbrook on some occasions as the latter made it to ‘Shaqtin a Fool’. However, Shaq gave him a piece of advice while watching him from the courtside. Now, Ken Mauer, who has been banned by the NBA for not following the health and safety protocols, compared Westbrook to Shaq.

Ken Mauer admits Russell Westbrook is like Shaquille O’Neal

Banned NBA referee, Ken Mauer, recently appeared for an interview with Jason Whitlock. During the interview, he talked about how some players keep saying something to the referees, while others don’t. He revealed that Westbrook hasn’t been that way and compared him with Shaquille O’Neal.

“Russell’s never been that way. He gets plays. He’s like Shaq,” Ken Mauer told Jason Whitlock.

“We miss on him and we miss on him because he was so strong, he’d finish. He’d get fouled, and we’d missed plays on him. And I’d go back and look at plays and I’d come to him after the game or come to him after the second half, ‘I missed that play. I kicked that guy out of that play. You got fouled. I missed it.’ I like to think he’s that way with a lot of referees. I would hope he was, and I’m not just trying to signal Russell.”

Ken Mauer has been an official in the NBA since 1986. In fact, his father was an NBA referee, along with his brother, who is a WNBA referee. However, after officiating around 1900 games in his career, he has been banned by the league.

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Ken recently revealed that NBA forced him out for not following the league’s health and safety protocols. The NBRA, National Basketball Referees Association, reached an agreement with the NBA that included the health and safety protocols mandate.