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Shaquille O’Neal Imparts Mother Lucille’s Wise Knowledge to Give Kevin Durant an Important Lesson: “Is There Any Truth to the Criticism?”

Published 07/17/2022, 11:00 AM EDT

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Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Durant have had a long-standing beef with each other. It started with O’Neal making fun of JaVale McGee and it has not seemingly ended yet until now. Shaq recently got embroiled in a fight with Durant again as the former tried to defend his co-star Charles Barkley. Durant has had a very eventful off-season so far.

After his team got swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round, criticism has been relentless. Durant’s legacy got questioned by many fans and experts. He did not back out from Twitter fights and that complicated stuff even more. There was no hiding now for the forward as all eyes were firmly on him.

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Shaquille O’Neal, in his podcast, gave some advice imparted to him by his mother Lucille. “She said, ‘Son if we get upset about criticism,'” said Big Aristotle, “‘See if there is any truth to any criticism'”. He recalled that when he used t come back home angry because he got criticized, his mom won’t be so angry. That article said that Shaq would be a better player if he didn’t focus so much on movies and music.

He continued, “My mom said ‘Baby, you are doing a lot. So before you are reacting to what people are saying, see if there is any truth to the criticism.'” His mom thought it was legitimate criticism and told him not to get angry.

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According to him, players are a little too sensitive nowadays to this. They don’t want to be criticized for their actions and performances.

Kevin Durant has gotten much criticism for Brooklyn’s dismal season

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Kevin Durant has asked for a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. The player has been criticized for this move because he was the centerpiece of the Nets project. This has all come to an end with this request. He has not been very receptive to it either.

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But with the Brooklyn Nets looking for a very expensive package for him, it has become almost impossible for him to leave. Teams need to involve other teams in the packages and that has not been happening so far. The fact that his two rings with the Golden State Warriors still get discredited by fans also rankles him.

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What do you think of Big Aristotle’s advice? Is it helpful for Kevin Durant? Discuss in the comments below.

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Written by:

Aditya Kar

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Aditya Kar is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. A holder of Bachelors and Masters degrees in History, he has been a fan of the NBA since 2011. He has a very keen interest in the stories that define the league and the sport.
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Edited by:

Veer Badani