“I Was One…” Shaquille O’Neal Admits Underestimating Steph Curry’s Future Impact After Recent Accusation

“Sort of David vs. Goliath” is how Shaquille O’Neal described King James’ game against Warriors star Stephen Curry. The two, who had previously stunned the crowd in the 2024 Paris Olympics, faced off again on April 3. The Warriors went 19-42 from the three-point line, ultimately securing a 123-116 win over the Lakers. Curry hit 37 points. Nearly a decade ago, many doubted the impact the 3-point shot has on the league now. It was once unimaginable. O’Neal, who has a very different opinion today, admitted that he was once one of those skeptics.

Speaking about the spectacle the Warriors put on to defeat the Lakers, the TNT crew on Tuesday’s show highlighted James and Curry’s performance.  LeBron James notched up a 33-point performance; however, he couldn’t help the Lakers recover.

Speaking of the Warriors star, O’Neal explained that there was initial skepticism surrounding the 4x NBA champ, mostly due to his ankle injuries. However, he couldn’t help but praise how Curry has proved himself against all odds. Parker followed up by noting that, “I remember watching Steph play against the spurs (in 2014) and they lost to the spurs that year. But everybody’s like it’s not sustainable to shoot these shots and expect to win a championship and he has made all of us look crazy.” Even O’Neal admitted, “I was one of them.”

At that time, O’Neal couldn’t predict the future! Curry and the Golden State Warriors revolutionized the league with the 3-point shot. Now, in 2024, with the NBA witnessing a sudden drop in TV viewership ratings, some fans argue that the rise of the 3-pointer is responsible for it. Even Shaq agreed that the Warriors popularized it.

Shaq shared this sentiment on ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq,’ saying that he believes the game has become “boring.” And as per his opinion, that is why some fans stopped watching the games. O’Neal isn’t the only one who holds this opinion.

LeBron James blamed 3 pointers for the drop in the NBA Viewership ratings

King James was asked to explain his take on the newest NBA format of the NBA All-Star event that was held in San Francisco. The change was in an effort to make the 2025 event more entertaining after the disappointing 2024 NBA All-Star event. However, the Lakers legend argued that there are much more important issues than that.

He explained, “I have my ideas of what could possibly work, but I’m not going to do that. You got to do something. Obviously the last couple of years have not been a great All-Star Game on Sunday night. But it’s a bigger conversation. It’s not just the All-Star Game; it’s our game in general. Our game—there’s a lot of fucking threes being shot. So it’s a bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game,” the Los Angeles Lakers player added.

To give an idea, back in 2023, the Cs were the only team that scored more than 40% of their points from the deep, finishing at 41%. Now, last season, there were seven teams which have surpassed it, with Boston leading at 47.5% (as per Front Office Sports). While opinions vary on the reasons behind the shift, one thing is very clear: the 3-point shot continues to revolutionize!