Shaquille O’Neal gets personal about Zion Williamson’s conditioning

Shaquille O’Neal has a point of reference for Zion Williamson: himself.

Williamson struggled to keep pace as the Lakers decimated the Pelicans by 44 points in the In-Season Tournament semifinals Thursday night, and O’Neal broke down Williamson’s performance after the game on TNT.

O’Neal said that he saw David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon as his rivals in the mid-1990s, and came to the realization that he wasn’t on their level.

“I couldn’t do it, because I wasn’t working as hard as I thought I was,” O’Neal acknowledged.

He then began his critique of Williamson, saying that the 23-year-old does not “run hard.”

“I had the same problem my first and second year. I thought I was running hard. Charles [Barkley] has talked about this,” O’Neal said.

“Because my talent’s going to get me 20 [points]. When I started getting to 30-40, it’s because I started doing certain things.

“He doesn’t create easy points for himself. He doesn’t see [open teammates]. He doesn’t demand the ball … Charles always talks about how you can’t have a little guy guard you. He doesn’t have that ‘look’. Like, ‘I’m the greatest ever.’ I know a look when I see it.”

O’Neal said that people who had the “look” over the years included Tiger Woods and Jack Nicholson.

“He [Williamson] just does not have that look, and he doesn’t rebound,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal agreed with Kenny Smith that Williamson could be the best player in the league.

“Again, I was just like him, so I don’t want to sit up here [and rip him], but people used to pull me to the side and tell me I wasn’t working as hard [as I needed to],” O’Neal said.

“Once he decides to be that killer and go for it, he’s going to be a dangerous person.”