“I probably wouldn’t be able to coach,” Shaquille O’Neal claimed about the coaching job. The Lakers legend says his old-school mentality would make it tough for him to coach the current generation in the NBA. He would rather own a team. However, another strong sentiment could be underlying the 4x NBA champ’s words. He has often expressed this opinion to his Inside The NBA crew, seeking their approval. To his disappointment, Chuck and the rest seem to hold a different view. Recently, Shaq’s colleague dismissed his opinion once again.

As he often mentions, Shaq believes that coaches aren’t as important as people make them out to be. Speaking to Blake Griffin about the Cavaliers on The Steam Room podcast, Chuck quickly dismissed the Lakers legend’s belief, as Ernie Johnson reminded him of Shaq’s stance. “Every time Shaq says that it sounds stupid or every time. Coaching is important and it might not be important to a superstar which first of all I believe it’s important but I think it’s really important for your role players and guys like that. I think Kenny Atkinson is a terrific coach,” Chuck said.

He went on to praise the Cavaliers’ coach, Kenny Atkinson, for his leadership in the team. The Cavaliers suffered their first defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics, but the game revealed much about whether the Cavs could beat the defending champions. Donovan Mitchell delivered a strong 35-point performance, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the opponents, who excelled from beyond the arc.

The Celtics shot 14 of 22 from three-point range to gain a 21-point lead, though the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to cut the deficit to two during the third quarter. Coach Atkinson is quite optimistic about the next matchup. He is the first coach to record a 15-game winning streak with a new team, which propelled the Cavaliers to the top of the standings.

While O’Neal is confident in the Cavaliers, he didn’t share the same praise for their coach.

What does Shaquille O’Neal think about the coaches? 

For over a few years, he has believed that players do most of the job. Despite winning under the guidance of Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, he believes that coaches aren’t impactful, neither when a team loses nor when it wins. “When I lost and got swept, it had nothing to do with the coach. Me. All me. Because I’m driving the bus, coaching doesn’t matter,” Shaquille O’Neal said on NBA On TNT.

Just recently, he praised the Cavaliers for their hard work and commended Mitchell but had very little to say about the Cavs’ coach, Atkinson. “Pfft, he (Atkinson) ain’t doing nothing. Donovan Mitchell is playing,” the Los Angeles Lakers legend said on NBA on TNT. In response, the Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley clarified, “You don’t believe in coaching cause you’re a dummy.” Atkinson joined the team in June, and some notable improvements have occurred.

O’Neal even once confessed that no team approached him for coaching jobs. Now we know why. Regardless, he wouldn’t have been interested in taking up the job because he said he has the same mindset as Riley, Jackson, and Gregg Popovich. 

He believes that it wouldn’t work with the current generation. Do you think O’Neal is right about his opinion?