Shaq humorously explains why he calls himself ‘Black Steph Curry’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Shaquille O’Neal was unstoppable in anything that wasn’t Steph Curry-esque during his 19-year NBA career.
Yet the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame center jokingly calls himself the “Black Steph Curry.”
Speaking to Curry’s Warriors teammate Draymond Green on “The Draymond Green Show,” O’Neal explained the reasoning behind the name.
“I’m jealous of them,” O’Neal told Green of big names like Victor Wembanyama, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić. “[I] I wish I could step out and shoot the three, brother. Do you know why I call myself the ‘Black Steph Curry’? Because if I go to the gym and miss 190 f-kin 3s but make one, I’m the ‘Black Steph Curry.’ That s–kin feels good to step out and shoot those three, bro.
O’neal was a 15-time NBA All-Star and a four-time NBA champion, but he never had the shooting ability or opportunities to stretch the floor like the big men he listed.
Did he ever need them? No.
O’neal averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game throughout his career.
Playing like Curry – or the modern NBA great – was never in the cards for O’Neal. However, he wishes things had gone differently.
“If I’m jealous, I’m not jealous,” O’Neal added. “I use jealousy to motivate me. Every now and then I go out and try Klay Thompson on my st. I just go out there and try to shoot. I’m jealous of them because I wish I could do that.
“Back then I would go from coast to coast every now and then and the coach would look at me funny. [Wembanyama, Embiid and Jokić are] allowed to do it.”
O’Neal sank just one of 22 career three-point attempts (0.45 percent). He also had 3,310 career turnovers to 3,026 assists.
Of course, O’Neal probably feels frustrated watching the game he once led evolve before his eyes. But he should be proud of what he has achieved given his skills, while admiring what the new boys are capable of.
After all, the best big men continually integrate O’Neal’s game into theirs season after season. And the last four NBA MVP awards have gone to centers (Jokić – 3, Embiid – 1).
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