Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal had a candid message for Lakers big man Deandre Ayton following his first game in the purple and gold.
“Listen Deandre,” O’Neal said on the inaugural Inside the NBA episode on ESPN, “the performance you had yesterday [O’Neal gave a thumbs down to the camera], I need you to step it up my boy. You gotta do three things: you gotta rebound, block shots, and you gotta dominate. The pressure’s not on you, you playing with two great players that get doubled a lot. When they make the little bounce pass, catch it, and throw it down.”
“You’re not getting doubled, you have a small guy guarding you in the post, you turn around and shoot a fadeaway, that’s not gonna get it done,” he added. “We need you brother, we need you to step it up. That performance you had yesterday was terrible, come on, Deaadre, you gotta step it up.”
Ayton put up 10 points, six rebounds, one block, and four turnovers across 34 minutes of action.
The Lakers acquired Ayton out of an apparent need for frontcourt depth and a vertical lob threat that would pair well with superstar Luka Doncic.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft didn’t do enough to impress the Hall of Famer during his debut, but the Lakers hope that the best is yet to come.
Ayton is coming off a down season with the Portland Trail Blazers, but he dealt with his fair share of injuries last season. A calf strain in February ultimately shut him down for the rest of the season, ahead of Portland agreeing to a contract buyout this offseason.
At 27 years old, Ayton already has seven years of experience and an NBA Finals appearance during his time with the Phoenix Suns. Perhaps Ayton can put his rough debut behind him and continue working towards the Lakers’ ultimate goal.
