NBA legend won't contact with Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and others after draft

NBA legend won't contact with Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and others after draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Shaquille O'Neal won't be trying to influence the next wave of NBA stars.

With one of college basketball's best freshman classes in recent memory, the number of one-and-done talents like Duke's Cameron Boozer, BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, UNC's Caleb Wilson and others are expected to come together for a class to rival the NBA Draft classes of both 1996 and 2003. Despite a deep pool, Shaq won't be reaching out to any of them to give advice.

The reason why the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar is staying away is rather simple. O'Neal revealed to the New York Post that he no longer texts any former or current players in the league and enjoys not being involved.

"I don’t like athletes or superstars because they’re a--holes," O'Neal said.“I denounced myself from being a celebrity about 10 years ago because those people are weird. I’m not weird." He went on to say, “I want to be a regular guy.”

As an analyst for Inside the NBA, O'Neal takes it seriously and just wants to be removed from the game on a personal level. While he'll never fully get away from the game, it's clear there will be no "Shaq Attack" motivation for the next generation.

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However, O'Neal dropped an interesting nugget for any of the up-and-coming players willing to listen. “We talk about the NIL, what’s going on now. People always go for the money first, but you have to have the education on how to manage the money,” he said.