A week after NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal mistook Chauncey Billups as the Detroit Pistons' coach, 2016 NBA champion Richard Jefferson jokingly called him out.
During TNT's March 11 NBA broadcast, O'Neal and Co. discussed Detroit's remarkable turnaround. After finishing with a league-worst 14-68 record last season, the Pistons (39-31) sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a realistic shot at a top-four finish.
O'Neal commended the team's star guard Cade Cunningham for his poise and composure before crediting Detroit's coaching staff. However, rather than mention first-year Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, O'Neal praised Billups, the Portland Trail Blazers' coach.
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"You said something very interesting about Cade Cunningham. Great player now at this stage, he plays at his own pace," O'Neal said. "Anybody that can consistently play at their own pace and put up numbers is a great player. I like the way he's playing. I like what Chauncey's doing. Those guys play hard."
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O'Neal's co-hosts Candace Parker and Vince Carter promptly pushed back, informing the big man that Bickerstaff is Detroit's coach. Afterward, O'Neal appeared to get defensive, noting that he hadn't followed the upstart team's season closely.
"First of all, I don't watch Detroit. How about that, boo-boo?" O'Neal said. "I don't watch 'em. So, I messed up. I made a mistake."
Some perceived the Hall of Famer's slip-up as inexcusable, accusing him of not fulfilling his duties as a primetime analyst.
During Wednesday's ESPN coverage of the Pistons' road matchup against the Miami Heat, Jefferson didn't let O'Neal off the hook.
Jefferson was asked, "What makes this Detroit team so special?" He then referenced O'Neal's coaching blunder.
"Well, contrary to popular belief, Chauncey Billups is not their head coach, it's J.B. Bickerstaff," Jefferson said before winking at the camera.
The Pistons went on to win 116-113 in Miami, led by Cunningham's team-best 25 points and game-winning 3-pointer. However, given O'Neal's comments, they may need to make a deep playoff run to capture his attention.
Also Read: Shaquille O'Neal drops savage 1-word response to controversial referee suffering major setback
Pistons' social media team comically takes exception to Shaquille O'Neal slighting team
In addition to Richard Jefferson's on-air joke, the Pistons' social media team fired back at Shaquille O'Neal for "overlooking" their squad.
After O'Neal called Chauncey Billups Detroit's coach, the team reminded him of his LA Lakers' five-game 2004 NBA Finals defeat against the Billups-led Pistons. It shared a graphic featuring the four-time NBA champion looking disheartened in his Lakers uniform next to Billups celebrating his 2004 title.
"Nothing new here," the team wrote, with the graphic reading, "Overlooked us in 2004."
Thus, it has seemingly been a rough week for O'Neal from an analyst's perspective.
Also Read: "Nico Harrison has to go" - Shaquille O'Neal offers no-nonsense solution to end 'Mavericks curse'
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