Weeks ago, Shaq caught the ire of NBA players and fans alike when he came for Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell in a post-game interview. At the moment of the interview, the Utah Jazz had a winning record of 11-4 and Mitchell had just dropped a season-high of 36 points in his teams' victory against the New Orleans Pelicans, but Shaq went for the jugular nevertheless, telling Mitchell, "You don't have what it takes to get to the next level."
After NBA stars such as Lebron James and Kevin Durant came to Mitchell's defense, Shaq doubled own on his stamce, saying that he of all people would know what greatness looks like in basketball players. Fast-forwarding to today, both Mitchell and the Utah Jazz have caught a vicious stride, having only lost one game since Shaq's disrespectful comments in January, and now, Shaq is implying that he's one of the reasons for their success this season.
During TNT's halftime report of the Jazz's game against the Boston Celtics yesterday, Shaq claims to have given Utah the boost that it needed, saying, "I never hate, I just try to give constructive criticism. My whole career I've been a leader and motivate my players a certain way. So you're welcome, Utah."
It didn't take long for basketball fans to comment on Shaq's apparent obsession with Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz, with several fans taking to Twitter to point out a major hole in Shaq's claim: Mitchell's consistency.
Do you think that Shaq is partially responsible for the Utah Jazz's dominance this season?