The New York Knicks are coming off an exciting season and made a major addition to their roster with the acquisition of Mikal Bridges. Trade with the Brooklyn Nets (earlier this month).
There is growing hope that the Knicks could be a team from the Eastern Conference that advances to the NBA Finals in 2025.
However, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal isn't impressed with the Knicks.
He recently spoke about the team The Big Podcast.
O'Neal: “New York is a place that runs on hype. They control the hype. They can get other teams pumped… They're nowhere near winning a championship. They're going to win some games and get this thing going, but I'm more impressed with how many championships you have at the end of your career.”
The Knicks haven't convinced Shaq they can win a championship.
Shaq's Big Podcast translator -Get a quote online now. pic.twitter.com/q5xLeO2Du7
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) July 27, 2024
Many Knicks fans will likely disagree with O'Neal's comments.
They're coming off a season in which they finished as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 50-32 record.
The Knicks defeated Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers (in six games) in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Shaq on the Villanova Knicks:
“New York is built on hype and it's the place to control the hype… They haven't won anything, but oh New York, New York… they're a long way from winning a championship.”
(via translation:) pic.twitter.com/0jKEdR4BfU
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) July 27, 2024
Despite dealing with numerous injuries, the Knicks took the Indiana Pacers to Game 7 of the second round before being eliminated.
With a healthy roster that includes Bridges, they could easily rank as one of the best four teams in the Eastern Conference.
Bridges appeared in 82 games last year (with the Nets), averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three-point range.
