NBA legend and four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal is usually pretty blunt. You can see that every week as he co-hosts the “Inside the NBA” with Ernie Johnson, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Charles Barkley.
Shaq is usually the one who’s really hard on players when they aren’t performing up to snuff, and he’s also quick to call out how much a player is making.
In an era where the athlete is coddled and catered to more than ever, someone like O’Neal, who considers himself an old-school player, wouldn’t do too well as a coach. And let’s just say he knows it, and he recently told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that in a recent interview.
Shaq Says His Old-School Mentality Won’t Work In Today’s Game
In the interview, Shaq likened his coaching mentality to his former coaches, who were old school, as well as one he didn’t play for but respects a ton.
“I probably wouldn’t be able to coach, I have an old-school mentality — Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich — type mentality. I don’t think I would be able to relate to the new generation. I’ve coached my son in AAU, and we won a championship. It was actually very fun, but never again.”
Shaq sounds a lot like Deion Sanders, whom he lobbied for as the Dallas Cowboys head coach after the team’s 2022 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The only difference is Sanders is coaching in college, but he also stated he’d never coach at the professional level because his mentality is much different than those of today’s pros.
O’Neal Wants To Be An Owner, Not A Sideline-Stalker
While O’Neal is adamant that he has no desire to coach, the business mogul is very serious about being an owner someday.
O’Neal told Manning this about being an owner.
“No. Nobody has ever called me about coaching, but I’m still looking to be an owner somehow,” O’Neal said. “I’m interested in a certain team in Florida.”
Speaking of the Orlando Magic, the team who drafted him No. 1 overall in 1992, Shaq says he doesn’t know if the franchise is for sale, but he’s definitely interested in owning them in some capacity.
Shaq still resides in Orlando and even sent a message out to the current owners last June.
“This message goes out to the DeVos family: If you’re ready to sell the Orlando Magic, sell it to somebody that’s going to take it to the next level. That’s us,” Shaq said during a 2022 episode of his podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq.” “We still run the franchise. And if they want to sell it to us, DeVos family, we are ready to go right now.”
There hasn’t been any announcement of a sale of the Orlando Magic, so as of now they’re not for sale, but O’Neal sounds ready to join the fray if they do become available. And he’s bringing along good friend and former Magic teammate Dennis Scott.
