Fans resurface Shaquille O'Neal's stern verdict on LeBron, Steph and KD's Olympics run after close wins: "Not impressive at all!"

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal has never been shy about voicing his opinion. Now a sports analyst, Shaq offered a scathing assessment of Team USA's Summer Olympics during its group stage outings. O'Neal was a member of the 1996 Olympic team that dominated the men's basketball event in Atlanta, and he expects those same high standards every time Team USA hits the court.

Speaking on "The Big Podcast with Shaq" on August 2, the former Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers center delivered a stern verdict on LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant's 2024 Paris Olympics campaign.

"The fact that they win 97-95 and they only beat South Sudan by one. That is never supposed to happen," said O'Neal. "You don't win by 20, I'm not impressed."

Fans brought up Shaquille O'Neal's comments when analyzing the United States latest run, with many unimpressed with the current team's performance.

"Not impressive at all!" said one fan.

"I agree with Shaq," responded another fan.

"What 1996 Diesel would do to the bigs today would be borderline illegal," commented a fan.

"True. Steph Curry had to bail them out twice," stated another fan.

"Shaq is right," said another fan in agreement with O'Neal's comment.

Although Shaq’s comments were from last week's podcast, the point is valid considering the USA survived some close calls in the semifinals and the finals.

Serbia led the U.S. by 17 points at one stage of the semifinal matchup and went into the fourth quarter with a commanding 13-point lead. If not for a stunning shooting display from Steph Curry, the USA could have been eliminated in the semifinal round for the first time since 2004.

"You got the best players in the world on one team," added O' Neal.

A tightly contested 98-87 victory over France in the finals was enough to secure the gold medal, but the USA had some rocky performances leading up to the Olympics.

A strong outing from Josh Giddey saw Australia push Team USA to the final stages of an exhibition game. The Boomers eventually fell just short of an upset with a 98-92 loss.

South Sudan, a nation making its first Olympic appearance in basketball, was seconds away from a historic win over the United States before some late-game heroics from LeBron James secured a 101-100 victory.

Shaquille O'Neal was instrumental in Team USA's gold medal run at the 1996 Olympics

Former basketball players Dominique Wilkins and Shaquille O'Neal attend NBA All Star Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O'Neal was called up to the USA Olympic team for the 1996 games in Atlanta, Georgia. Alongside some of the game's greats like Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, David Robinson and John Stockton, that team overpowered its opponents to win the nation's 11th gold medal in the men's basketball event.

The 1996 Olympic team cruised to eight straight victories, winning every game by 20 points or more. A 63-point win over China in the group stage will jump off the page, but a 31-point win over Croatia and a 28-point triumph over Australia were equally impressive.

Overall, Shaquille O'Neal and the 1996 team finished with a perfect 8-0 record and defeated their opponents by an average score of 31.75 points.