To say the least, basketball Twitter and Instagram has been having a field day with an unusually interesting exchange that occurred on a recent edition of TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
Shaq and Candace Parker debate how defense is played in today’s NBA 🍿
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/o91WDCbwdm
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 3, 2021
Candace Parker, still a current WNBA player (who recently made headlines by signing with the Chicago Sky) and Shaquille O’Neal who has been retired for a minute now, had a conversation about how today’s style of basketball is played. Anyone who has watched basketball evolve since Shaq’s glory days knows that guard play and the 3-point shot is the nucleus of many an offensive game plan as opposed to dominating in the paint as Shaq did for much of his career.
They were discussing Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and why he is so hard to defend. To paraphrase, Parker explained that Jokic fits today’s style of basketball because it is more centered on pick-and-rolls as well as the 3-point shot. Shaq apparently had a nostalgic moment and wondered how the game became what it is today and why it is no longer as big man-dominant as it was when he played.
He then mentioned, as many retired players mention, how his ideal way of play won championships. They won championships in the early to mid 2000s while Parker has adapted to the modern style of basketball play and won a ring with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016.
There is no question that Shaq is one of the greatest players in basketball history. But he had a very “get off my lawn” moment when lamenting basketball today vs. basketball when he played. Perhaps he should subscribe to WNBA League Pass this season and watch some of Parker’s games this season with the Sky to get a first-hand lesson of how basketball is played in this day and age.
Seeing Allie Quigley draining some 3s may help too.
