It’s never a bad day to channel Shaquille O’Neal. Unless of course, you’re at the free throw line. Jusuf Nurkic was apparently embodying the big man when he went 8 of 16 from the stripe. He did put up a total of 16 points on the board to help the Phoenix Suns win 110-105 over the Houston Rockets. He added 2 assists and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes. However, he took quite a few fouls too.
“I definitely was Shaq tonight,” he told the media after the game, dragging Shaq’s historic inability to consistently make free throws throughout his NBA career. This might not sit right with O’Neal who has been chastising the Bosnian big for quite some time now.
"I definitely was Shaq tonight."
Jusuf Nurkic on going 8-of-16 from the line as #Rockets fouled him on purpose in 4th. Said he hopes teams do it again.
On rookie Cam Whitmore with back-and-forth with Devin Booker. "(Whitmore) was on some bullshit the last game too." #Suns pic.twitter.com/Zx5aarRLNS
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 1, 2024
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Jusuf Nurkic has been taking on O’Neal and Charles Barkley for their opinions on TNT for a while now. And recently, it has only escalated with the 9-year veteran getting involved in multiple feuds with Draymond Green. After their altercation that led to Green’s suspension, Shaq would go on a podcast and call Nurkic “soft”. Well, it certainly looks like the Phoenix Suns center was keeping receipts.
Though highly touted as the most dominant center in the NBA, O’Neal’s free throw percentage was 52.7%. He couldn’t expand his game beyond the lower post. He only made one shot from the deep out of 22 attempts in his entire career. So Nurkic inviting more players to foul him when he’s feeling like ‘Shaq’ is trash-talk of another level.
Jusuf Nurkic vs TNT crew
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Jusuf Nurkic is not only dragging a feud with Green, but also with Shaq. Once O’Neal accused him of ruining the “big man alliance,” Nurkic laughed it off. “Lmao, first I never said that!” Nurkic said about O’Neal alleging he wanted to press charges against Green. “People be making s*** up lol. Shaqilović I’m not from here, I’m not losing money and nobody fighting in this NBA...”
Even if he says so, Nurkic is staying fiesty. Even Shaq’s colleague was not spared. When Charles Barkley wanted Bradley Beal to come off the bench, Nurkic expressed his frustration in a tweet. “Suns legend opinion, but didn’t even vote for Book to be All-Star… yeah that makes sense.” He was referring to Chuck being the only one in the TNT crew who didn’t vote for Devin Booker,
And when Chuck called Kevin Durant a “follower,” Nurkic posted a picture with KD and called it, “Quiet guy and myself.”
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Shaq and Chuck indulge a good back-and-forth with youngsters. The Big Man Alliance founder might have a response to Nurkic’s latest comment.
READ MORE: Before Humiliating Loss, Charles Barkley Ducked DJ Khaled’s Challenge at Capital One’s ‘The Match’