NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Zings Shaquille O’Neal For Saying “Boring” On-Court Action Is Hurting TV Ratings

deadline.com:

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver playfully zinged Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal for saying the “boring” quality of play in the league is weighing on TV ratings. “There was so much diversity in Shaqi’s game, I can’t believe he said that,” Silver cracked during an appearance Wednesday at the Paley Center for Media‘s International Council Summit.

On a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the host said TV ratings this season have declined “because we’re looking at the same thing.

Everybody is running the same plays.” Golden State Warriors shooter Steph Curry, he added, “and those guys messed it up. I don’t mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but every team isn’t a 3-point shooter.

So why [does] everybody have the same strategy? I think it makes the game boring.” After his jibe about the bruising, low-post style of O’Neal, who stands 7-foot-1 and weighed about 330 pounds in his playing days, Silver turned more reflective. “I respect his opinion,” he said. “I think that we pay a lot of attention to what we see in our game. … Sometimes there’s more appreciation for a 12-foot jumpshot than a 30-foot jumpshot.