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LeBron James and Kevin Durant Fire Back At Retired Players Criticizing Young Players
This past Thursday, after the Utah Jazz’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Shaquille O’Neal had a weird post game interview with Donovan Mitchell.
Shaq already said that Mitchell, who scored 36 points, while adding seven rebounds, and five assists, was just a scorer, and doubled down in his post-game question:
“I said tonight that you are one of my favorite players but you don’t have what it takes to get to the next level. I said it on purpose because I wanted you to hear it. What do you have to say about that?”
Donovan's response when Shaq tells him he doesn't have what it takes to get to the next level:
"Aight." pic.twitter.com/t64PxpeTFD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 22, 2021
This rightfully caused a lot of backlash and criticism and restarted the discussion why former players from previous eras often discredit today’s players or even slander them.
This time, it even caused two of the greatest players in the league (current and all-time), in LeBron James and Kevin Durant, to speak up.
Durant said:
“Them old heads need to go enjoy retirement. These boys have coaches they work with every day lol.”
While James added:
“There’s a difference between constructive criticism and soft hating though. I’ve seen it both ways come my way, mostly the hate. You can hear it in their delivery.”
