Shaquille O'Neal. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Shaq reveals his lofty expectations for Team USA

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Aug 2, 2024 6:42 PM ET

Shaquille O'Neal has pretty high expectations for Team USA at the Olympics, and he does not want to hear any excuses.

In his latest episode of “The BIG Podcast,” Shaq was asked by co-host Adam Lefkoe the minimum amount of points the USA men’s Olympic basketball team should be winning their games by. O’Neal, a gold medalist for the 1996 team, immediately went for a very big number.

“If you don’t win by 20 I’m not impressed.”

– Shaq on Team USA

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/HpE4j4EDhf pic.twitter.com/FsIpyv8VoH

— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) August 2, 2024

“If you don’t win by 20 I’m not impressed. Just think about it. You got the best players in the world on one team. If they win, they’re supposed to win. If they don’t win by 20, people are going to talk about them.”

Team USA did win its first game against Serbia by 26. They beat South Sudan in their second game by 17, so they’re only 1-for-2 when it comes to impressing Shaq at the Olympics.

In all likelihood, the American players probably won’t pay much heed to Shaq’s commentary. As long as they win the gold, they will have what they came for. Besides, there are a lot of other critics who are much easier targets to clap back at.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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