NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal says the Los Angles Lakers will “definitely” make the playoffs despite currently holding a 26-30 record and not making any significant moves prior to the trade deadline.
“They definitely will make the playoffs,” Shaq told TMZ Sports at his Super Bowl party on Friday.
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“This was one of the hardest franchises I ever had to play for,” Shaq added. “I remember when I came here, Jerry West said, ‘Look, I know you do movies, I know you do rap albums and all that,’ But, he made me look up [in the rafters] and I seen Wilt [Chamberlain] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and he said, ‘At the end of this, you’re either going to be a bust or you’re going to be a legend.’ So, those guys have to decide how they want to be remembered.”
In recent games, the Lakers have experimented with benching star point guard Russell Westbrook to close out games.
To make matters worse for the historically great franchise, the team’s star, LeBron James, is reportedly prepared to move on from the Lakers in order to play alongside his son, Bronny.
The Lakers’ next game will tipoff at 8:30 PM, ET against the Golden State Warriors.
[Via]