Shaquille O’Neal Says He Would Have Ripped Into Magic Johnson for Bashing Lakers: “If Magic Got Something to Say, Why Don’t He Say It to My Face”

Shaquille O’Neal has rarely held himself back from speaking about things related to the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers legend left a remarkable legacy in the NBA and since his retirement has forayed into the media world. O’Neal has often criticized players and franchises for various reasons. Recently, he took shots at another Lakers legend and former NBA star.

O’Neal criticized NBA and legend Magic Johnson for taking shots at the current Lakers team. He admonished Magic for attempting to slam the Lakers, as he dismissed Magic’s criticism. O’Neal revealed what he would say to Magic if he was on the receiving end of Magic’s tirade as a Lakers player.

O’Neal said, “That’s my point. No, but it is. Because he could have been like, I would have been like, ‘Listen I don’t want to hear this sh*t from Magic. If Magic got something to say, well, then he has to come over and say it to us, to my face’. That’s what I would say.”

Magic Johnson spent 13 seasons of his playing career in the NBA. He spent his entire NBA career at the Lakers between 1979 to 1991 and one season in 1996. During his time at the Lakers, he won five NBA titles for the franchise. The NBA also named him the NBA MVP three times during his career.

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Orlando Magic’s big miss when Shaquille O’Neal signed for the Lakers

The Orlando Magic displayed immense confidence in Shaquille O’Neal’s abilities at the dawn of his career. They drafted him as their first pick in the 1992 NBA draft. O’Neal repaid the Magic’s faith in him by putting in enormous performances for the Orlando-based franchise. However, he didn’t resign with them in a move that is still debated.

As his contract ran out in 1996, O’Neal became a free agent. He rejected an $80 million deal by the Magic to resign with them and instead accepted a more lucrative deal by the Lakers. The Lakers offered a seven-year $121 million deal which appealed to O’Neal who finally accepted it. And as history would have it, he won three NBA titles with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant.

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