Shaquille O'Neal Says He'd Call Out Magic Johnson If He Criticized His Lakers: "I'd Say, 'If Magic Got Something To Say, Well, Then He Has To Come Over And Say It To Us, To My Face.'"

The 2021/22 NBA season has everybody in the Lakers Nation trying to find solutions to a situation that seemingly doesn't have any. Fans, analysts, former and current players have had something to say about the Purple and Gold, but nobody has actually offered the solution to this. 

Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Robert Horry and Shaquille O'Neal are some former Lakers that have criticized this season's squad, asking them to do better and improve their level before it's too late. 

As the Lakers entered a losing streak, Magic called them out last week, claiming they deserve better from a team assembled to compete for the top spots in the West, not a chance to play in the play-in tournament. 

After being blown out by the Nuggets 133-96, we as Lakers fans can accept being outplayed but we deserve more than a lack of effort and no sense of urgency. Owner @JeanieBuss, you deserve better.

Russell Westbrook dismissed those comments, saying Johnson isn't with the team every day, so he doesn't know what's actually going on with the squad. Shaquille O'Neal also reacted to those comments, but he wasn't as polite as Westbrook. 

During a recent edition of his "The Big Podcast with Shaq," O'Neal reflected on Magic's comments, explaining how he would have handled that situation. The Big Diesel would have called out Magic to see if he would say something to his face. 

“That’s my point. No, but it is. Because he could have been like, I would have been like, ‘Listen I don’t want to hear this sh*t from Magic. If Magic got something to say, well, then he has to come over and say it to us, to my face’. That’s what I would say.”

These two are big legends in Lakers' history, and they both had heavily criticized the team's recent performances. Apparently, Shaq thinks that him calling out Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook is different from what Magic did, and he would have taken offense to that if he was still active. 

Everybody wants the Lakers to thrive this season and people will voice their frustrations when things are going wrong. Well, Lakers players didn't say much about this, as they try to turn things around. They keep struggling to get things going and it's hard to predict if this situation will change in the near future.