Shaquille O’Neal is known for not mincing any words and his recent comments justify it. The Staples Centre is undergoing a name change to Crypto.com Arena and Shaq gave his views regarding the same. He mentioned how the Stables Center belongs to him and Kobe Bryant forever.
Lakers fans have been very disappointed with the name change because of the history associated with their home ground. Shaq also expressed his disgust regarding the Lakers’ form recently and went on to praise Stephen Curry.
Shaquille O’Neal praises the Golden State Warriors:
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The Los Angeles Lakers currently sit sixth in their table and have been terrible recently. The game against Boston Celtics showed a lot of promise as the trio of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook finally clicked together. The next match itself portrayed how bad the Lakers have been this season as they lost to Memphis Grizzlies at home. The Grizzlies were without their star players Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks.
“I don’t celebrate seventh place at all. I celebrate Steph Curry. I’ll go to Golden State and watch him play,” said Shaq. Apparently, Shaquille O’Neal loves to watch the Golden State Warriors play and not his former team.
The Warriors, on the other hand, have the joint best record in the league and have been dominating all season. Stephen Curry leads the Golden State Warriors as he drops sensational performances and outperforms himself every night. The Warriors guard averages 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists this season and fights for the MVP award alongside Kevin Durant.
The Staples Center name change:
Shaquille O’Neal expressed his happiness regarding the name change because the Staples Center name will forever be associated with him and his triumphs during the early 2000s.
The iconic Staples Center first saw a championship between 2000-2002 when the Lakers completed the historic three-peat. The Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol duo led the Lakers to championships again in 2009 and 2010.
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BREAKING: Staples Center set to be renamed for https://t.co/B2C28rpvUi as part of a multi-year naming rights deal, according to a source close to the deal. pic.twitter.com/WBQlTec5eT
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 17, 2021
“I’m glad they’re taking the name of the Staples Center down because that was our building. Congratulations to the owners for getting a new deal, but hey, the Staples Center belongs to Shaq and Kobe forever.” said Shaq.
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The name change of the center can take months but the work has already started. The arena’s new logo is set to be unveiled on Christmas Day and workers have already started to take down the iconic red lettering of the ground. What are your thoughts on the name change?
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