The Detroit Pistons lashed out at Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal, now a TNT broadcaster after he made a stunning revelation during a recent broadcast.
While O'Neal reacted to a dominant 123-103 Pistons victory over the Washington Wizards, he made an egregious gaffe about the identity of Detroit's head coach.
"I like what Chauncey [Billups] is doing. Those guys play hard," O'Neal said. "My favorite player on that team is Isaiah Stewart. Big body, hard guy, likes to knock people out, push people around."
Billups, of course, enjoyed the most productive seasons of his Hall of Fame career while with the Pistons, including a stunning five-game 2004 NBA Finals upset over O'Neal's star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.
And Billups is an NBA head coach.
Unfortunately, he is not actually Detroit's head coach. Billups is currently in his fourth year as the head coach for the 28-39 Portland Trail Blazers. J.B. Bickerstaff, fresh off a largely successful stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is in his first season guiding the 37-29 Pistons.
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Future first-ballot Hall of Fame big Candace Parker, also a TNT broadcaster, called O'Neal out almost immediately.
"No, I can't let this go. Who's doing it?" Parker asked.
"Chauncey's the coach right?" O'Neal responded earnestly.
Adam Lefkoe, a TNT commentator and O'Neal "The Big Podcast" cohost, refuted this.
"Portland," Lefkoe said.
"J.B. Bickerstaff," Hall of Fame former swingman Vince Carter declared.
"First of all, I don't watch Detroit," O'Neal said. "I messed up, I made a mistake... I don't really get to watch them.... Love Cade [Cunningham], love Isaiah Stewart."
This would be a forgivable offense if Detroit wasn't really, really good this year. But the Pistons are one of the league's most exciting young clubs, just one season removed from their dismal 14-68 finish in 2023-24.
Point guard Cunningham has blossomed into an All-Star. In 61 healthy games, the 6-foot-6 standout is averaging 25.7 points on .464/.359/.856 shooting splits, 9.3 assists, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks.
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Journeyman shooting guard Malik Beasley is making a late push for Sixth Man of the Year honors, averaging 16.5 points on .441/.420/.654 shooting splits. Young center Jalen Duren is logging an 11.4-point, 10.3-rebound double-double. Second-year swingman Ausar Thompson has looked like one of the league's best young perimeter defenders. Veterans Tobias Harris and Dennis Schroder are thriving in their roles, while rookie Ron Holland is looking like a keeper.
Understandably, the Pistons' X account trolled O'Neal for the error, noting that his 2004 Lakers - a team that also included future Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant (very much in his prime), Karl Malone and Gary Payton - also "overlooked" Detroit in the Finals.
Detroit is currently the No. 6 seed in a competitive Eastern Conference, mere percentage points behind the 36-28 Milwaukee Bucks (the No. 4 seed) and Indiana Pacers (the No. 5 seed). While Detroit is 5.5 games behind the 42-23 New York Knicks with just 16 games remaining in the regular season, the fourth seed and homecourt advantage seem very doable.
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This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM.