“First of all, these young players need to understand, Shaquille O'Neal don't need to hate on you”- Shaquille O’Neal asserts he will not sugarcoat his criticism of Ben Simmons or any athlete

On “The Old Man and The Three” podcast, Ben Simmons said Shaquille O'Neal hated on him. The Hall of Famer has now responded to Simmons' comments on JJ Redick’s show. On “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the legendary LA Lakers big man clarified everything his stance, saying:

“First of all, these young players need to understand, Shaquille O’Neal don’t need to hate on you. Everything you do, I’ve done it a hundred times over. … It’s just what we see. The mental health thing ain’t come out till everybody started bashing you then you let people know you have mental health problems.

“If you go back, I told the world he DM’d me. He told me he was going through some problems, and I said I was gonna back off. And that’s exactly what I did.”

“But as far as what I saw, I speak on what I saw, and I speak on what I know. … And yes, you can be my brother, but I ain’t gonna always gonna sugarcoat things. Imma tell you the real. ... I want you to get to the level, to the level, to the level, but you can’t say I’m hating cause all the stuff you doing. You doing it cause you saw me do it.”

Ben Simmons previously said that Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley were sometimes ignorant of what they were saying about him. He said that he understood the basketball criticism, but the personal stuff had to be off-limits.

The former Philadelphia 76ers star also called out Shaquille O'Neal for claiming they were LSU brothers when that wasn’t the case. According to Simmons, Shaq never reached out to check on what he was going through.

Shaquille O'Neal explained why he is never going to be a hater and why his attacks are never personal:

“If you’re greater, you can’t be a hater. Let’s just get that straight right now. … Like I said, I’m just talking about what I see as a player, and I’m talking about what you gonna do to get to the next level. If you don’t like what I say, that ain’t my problem.

“It’s never a personal attack on you. I just say what I saw. I saw in his eyes he was scared. And guess what? Everybody goes through struggles, we all do. This is the game we play, this is the life we live, you’re gonna take criticism, they pay us a lot of money, somehow you have to deal with it.”

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Shaquille O'Neal has some parting words for Ben Simmons

Shaquille O'Neal will always say what he wants to say about basketball. Whether Ben Simmons plays well or not, the NBA on TNT analyst will continue to comment on his play. To that end, Shaquille O'Neal left the Brooklyn Nets’ point forward with something to think about:

“I wish him well, I hope he does what he does. But I come from an era where there’s no excuses. You don’t think I have them problems? You don’t think the everyday man have those same problems? We all have those same problems but I found a way to overcome and persevere."

Ben Simmons could be the missing piece to help Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant win the NBA championship. Before that becomes a reality, he will have to get used to the basketball world scrutinizing his game.