Vlade Divac recently said that Kobe Bryant was the best talent he’s ever played with even over Magic Johnson. Well Divac’s words weren’t as nice when describing one of Bryant’s Hall of Fame caliber teammates, Shaquille O’Neal.
Divac had many battles with Shaq during his days on the Sacramento Kings and even said his infamous flopping was due to Shaq’s bruising style of play. Now Divac is the Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Kings and when comparing their franchise player DeMarcus Cousins to Shaq, his criticism struck a chord.
via the Associated Press:
After spending two weeks on the road with the Sacramento Kings in his new front office role, Vlade Divac said he believes center DeMarcus Cousins is the most talented big man he has ever seen.
That includes his longtime nemesis, Shaquille O’Neal, who bested Divac in many battles between the Kings and Los Angeles Lakers more than a decade ago.
“I’ve been in basketball a long, long time, and I have to say he’s the most talented big guy I have ever seen,” Divac said Monday. “Shaq wasn’t talented — he was just strong. I was talented, but I wasn’t strong.”
Divac went on to call O’Neal one of the most dominant players ever. O’Neal, who knocked Divac and the Kings out of the playoffs in three straight seasons from 1999-2001, is now a minority owner with the team and one of Divac’s bosses.
“He always was my boss,” Divac said.
