Shaquille O’Neal Refuses to Accept Lakers’ Anthony Davis as a True Big Man

Anthony Davis has established himself as one of the best power forwards in the league. His ability to do almost everything on the court sets him apart from his peers. The only thing he lacked was championship experience, but AD checked that goal off the list last season.

He and LeBron James carried the LA Lakers and led them to their first title in a decade. But despite a phenomenal debut season with the purple and gold, it appears franchise legend Shaquille O’Neal is still not impressed by the Brow.

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Shaquille O’Neal’s qualms about Anthony Davis

Shaq recently spoke to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, where he claimed that AD is not a true big man.

The Big Diesel said, “Well, I hate when you all put power forwards and big men in the same category. You should talk to Tim Duncan. Because power forwards and big men are two different categories. Period.”

However, O’Neal did wish Davis well for his career with the Lakers.

“But I wish him well. My thing is just stay hungry. Why win one when you can win two, three or four?”

AD has already proved his worth as a Laker in his first year with the franchise. He matched LeBron toe-to-toe in their quest for an NBA title. Ultimately, he got his well-earned reward, an NBA Championship, last season.

But one might wonder, can AD and Bron repeat the same level of success for the next few seasons? Or was the 2020 NBA title was a one-hit wonder?

Can AD become a franchise legend for the Lakers?

Looking back at the numbers that Davis produced last season, he played phenomenally on both ends of the court. He averaged 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds along with 2.3 blocks per game. Any franchise would be happy to get these numbers from their superstar.

However, the Lakers expect much more from their players. They want the hardware and honestly, Davis is in the perfect position to deliver on those high expectations. He just signed a max deal with the team and is locked in for the next five years.

If he can win a couple more rings in that time frame, he can definitely go down as one of the best players to ever put on the purple and gold jersey.