"So Bron was right" - NBA fans shred Shaquille O'Neal for shading Zion Williamson's triple-double

During Tuesday's Inside the NBA show, NBA legend and sports analyst Shaquille O'Neal downplayed Zion Williamson's triple-double performance against the LA Clippers.

The New Orleans Pelicans star tallied 22 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and a block in the game to lead his team to a 127-120 home win over the Clippers. However, Shaq was not impressed by Williamson's performance and called for the Pelicans big man to record higher outputs to be celebrated.

"They're giving him props for that? I need more," O'Neal said. "... I need 26 (or) 27. I demand for my franchise player to play at the maximum (level). Don't be giving props for 20 points. Anybody can get 20 points now."

Reacting to the segment, NBA fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to slam Shaquille O'Neal for shading Zion Williamson's triple-double performance.

"So Bron was right 🤷🏾‍♂️💯" a fan tweeted.

"Shaq takes hating to new levels. Zion had a triple-double. That’s always an impressive night," a fan tweeted.

"Shaq had 2 triple doubles in his entire career, dude is such a hater & is a negative media influence for the NBA," a fan tweeted.

"Shaq would find a reason to hate on a fish swimming," a fan tweeted.

"Shaq not wanting to give credit to a big man? Yeah shocking news and the sky is blue," a fan tweeted.

"Shaq is doing actual damage to the league and how fans (new and old) approach the game. Sad to see. So bitter day after day," a fan tweeted.

Zion Williamson recorded his second triple-double of his career on Tuesday to match Shaquille O'Neal career triple-double tally. Since his retirement from the NBA, Shaq has garnered a reputation for being excessively critical on frontcourt stars, especially centers he believes he could have dominated during his prime.

Shaquille O'Neal lauds wrong coach for Pistons' performance

In another instance on Tuesday's Inside the NBA show, Shaquille O'Neal lauded Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups for the Detroit Pistons' improved performance this season. When called out for his mistake, Shaq reasoned that he doesn't watch the Pistons' games.

Coached by J.B. Bickerstaff, the Detroit Pistons are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-29 record so far this season. This has been a significant improvement for the team which previously failed to tally over 23 wins in the last six seasons.

Chauncey Billups previously played seven seasons with the Pistons during his NBA career as a player. He even led the team to a championship by defeating the Shaq-led LA Lakers in 2004, winning the Finals MVP award in the process.