"PG catching strays" - NBA fans abuzz as Shaquille O'Neal trolls Paul George with IG post

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal took a shot at Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George on his Instagram story on Sunday. O'Neal shared a post revealing the age of some of the league's stars. However, George's wasn't shown on the post. Instead, it was a dig at his performance for the 2024-25 season.

Some of the NBA's more recognizable stars are in the twilight years of their careers. One example is LA Lakers star LeBron James, who turned 40 on Monday. The post included other celebrities, including James Harden, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

All three stars are in their mid-30s, and no one knows how long they'll still be effective on the court. Other stars included in the post were Chris Paul, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook. Like the rest of the players on the list, their age was shown.

However, when it was George's turn, the word "a**" was put in place of his age.

Fans who saw the IG story couldn't help but share their reactions on X (formerly Twitter).

"PG catching strays 😭," one fan said on X.

"I’m 100% sure Shaq decided to post after reading the PG bit 😭," another fan said.

"PG is a** 😂, ever since he became Podcast P he declined rapidly," a fan commented.

Other fans speculated that maybe Shaq didn't see George's part in the post.

"Genuinely think he didn’t read the PG bit and just posted it 😭," a fan said.

"LMFAOOOO nah he prob didn’t see the PG part 😂😂," another fan said about O'Neal.

"He either didn’t fully read it or just don’t GAF," one fan commented.

George's 2024-25 campaign has not been kind to him. He's dealt with various injuries and has missed some games. He's appeared in 19 games, averaging 15.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

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How good was Shaquille O'Neal when he was PG's age?

Paul George's age wasn't shown on the post that Shaquille O'Neal on IG. However, the Sixers star is 34 and will turn 35 on March 2. Looking at his age, let's compare how good Shaq was when he was 34.

At that stage of his career, O'Neal was with the Miami Heat. It was the season after the Heat won their first championship and also the first title in which the big man didn't win the Finals MVP.

During the 2006-07 season, O'Neal played 40 games, averaging 17.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg and 2.0 apg. His age started to show that season as he played just 40 games.

A season after that, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he had his final All-Star appearance in 2009.