Donovan Mitchell dropped 36 points Thursday night to guide the Utah Jazz to a 129-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
But it was an exchange after the game that really raised eyebrows.
Mitchell did an interview with TNT, whose panel consists of former NBA players, including Shaquille O’Neal.
Shaq, for reasons that remain unclear, said he didn’t believe in Mitchell and asked what the guard thought.
An incredibly uncomfortable exchange ensued.
What exactly Shaq was thinking here, we don’t know. Maybe he was trying to gas Mitchell up in a way, but if so, it missed the mark.
If he was trying to goad Mitchell into saying something fiery, that didn’t work, either. Nor is it appropriate to do in a go-through-the-motions postgame interview.
It was just a bizarre move by Shaq, who ordinarily is pretty entertaining as an analyst.
