Shaquille O’Neal applauds Dave Portnoy’s recent comments about his friend Tom Brady.
“Dave talks a lot,” the legendary NBA star exclusively told Page Six, noting that the Barstool Sports founder called Brady’s post-NFL career “nasty” and “lame.”
“He’s one of the lucky guys who’s had a lot of success. So he thinks his perspective is important.”
O’Neal didn’t hold back, telling Page Six, “I’d be happy if someone punched him in the face. I hope it’s Tom (Brady).”
“I try to be nice, but you can tell him I said so,” he continued, claiming that “idiots” like Portnoy have opinions that “never” matter.
The former Los Angeles Lakers star further defended Brady, saying, “He knows exactly what he’s doing and he does it very well.”
As Page Six previously reported, Portnoy eviscerated Brady earlier this week with a scathing rant that read, “Wake up, Barstool.”
He criticized Brady’s recent antics, such as performing a skit at Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Fest in New York City, calling them “uncool” and undermining Brady’s legacy.
Brady, 48, and O’Neal, 54, have been friends for years. After Netflix’s 2025 Roast of Tom Brady, NBA icon aka Shaq featured Brady on his podcast.
At the time, he expressed concern that the NFL star was “angry” about the jab. But Brady reassured him that it was all in good fun, telling the fellow sports legend that he “loves to be teased.”
However, this is not the first time O’Neal has had an argument with Portnoy.
In 2023, after the Barstool Sports creator called then-Louisiana State University star Angel Reese “classless” on Twitter, Shaq slammed him, writing, “So is your mother.”
However, in a 2025 podcast episode, Portnoy said that when he ran into Shaq at UFC 314, they had a heart-to-heart conversation about the stock market.
O’Neal was speaking with Page Six while promoting his new true crime series, “Game Day Murders.”
A self-proclaimed “true crime buff,” he said he likes the genre because “everyone has that thing in their detectives.”
“Game Day Murders” premieres Monday, July 27 at 10pm ET on ID and will also stream on HBO Max.
