Anthony Davis’ Parents Want Shaquille O’Neal to Continue Tough Love, Moments After Big Man Alliance Disapproval

Anthony Davis has extended the Los Angeles Lakers‘ winning streak to four games with a sensational performance against the Milwaukee Bucks today. Despite being guarded by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the ‘Brow’ dropped 34 points and 23 rebounds in a double-overtime thriller, to steal the win at the Bucks’ home court. This was instantly put to Shaquille O’Neal‘s notice, who made a surprising revelation about a request from Davis’ parents. Also, what’s notable is that Shaq had just snubbed Davis from his Big Man Alliance list, but now it looks like there is a reason behind it.

AD played a total of 52 minutes today, which is the highest by a Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2012. What’s surprising is that he also faced a minor injury in the middle of the game. Hearing this, Shaq clapped his hands and shared, “He[Davis] knows how I feel about him and I’ve watched him play. His mother and father came up to me and said, ‘We want you to stay on our boy,’ because, I know what he’s capable of.” 

Shaq has constantly criticized Davis over the years when he has underperformed or missed games. Well, that has only fueled the 6’10 star to perform better. Perhaps that’s why the Big Aristotle snubbed the ‘Brow’ from his elite big man’s list citing that “AD is not a big man. He is a power forward.” Regardless of position though, it is clear that Davis has the full attention and respect of O’Neal.

The 4x NBA champion added, “Did a lot in Kentucky, but when he was with New Orleans and the numbers he was putting up, that’s when the news flashed me… Sometimes he is up sometimes he is down…When you gonna put a guy like that in a dog fight, he is gonna perform just like that.” Well, that’s a rare appreciation from the former NBA MVP! 

But who makes the cut for Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘Big Man Alliance’?

Shaq is picky when it comes to adding centers to this famous list. However, he believes Davis is not even a center in the first place. O’Neal considers AD to be a power forward, and that is why the Lakers big cannot make it to the ‘Big Man Alliance’ list. But Shaq went on to add Domantas Sabonis from the Sacramento Kings to the list.

Ironically, Sabonis and AD are of the same height, and the latter has the upper hand when it comes to defense. The Shaq-named ‘Lithuanian Lasagna’ had an underwhelming performance today against the Dallas Mavericks, even though he recorded a near triple-double.

AD was twice as productive as the Lithuanian center and also secured a win. But when it comes to a matchup between the two, Davis is yet to prove himself. Sabonis is 10-0 against the ‘Brow’, and has multiple triple-doubles when guarded by him. So, this could be a reason for the Big Man snub from Shaq. What are your thoughts?