Shaquille O'Neal has Draymond Green's back.
After the Warriors' 114-106 Game 2 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs on Monday at Golden 1 Center, the four-time NBA champion explained to his "Inside the NBA" co-hosts why he understands Green's reasoning behind stomping on Kings center Domantas Sabonis.
"One bad play begets another bad play," O'Neal told Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. "I'm not going to sit up here and be a hypocrite -- I would do the same thing, I really would.
"Don't be grabbing me because what am I going to do? If I stay there and just try to run forward, I'll fall. You gotta get off of me ... and if you're in the way, you might get stomped on."
O'Neal does admit that the play indeed was dirty, prompting an incredulous response from Barkley.
"But then just say that and leave it alone," Barkley replied.
"But hey, if you don't grab me, this won't happen," O'Neal retorted back.
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Smith agreed with O'Neal that had Sabonis not grabbed Green in the first place, the unfortunate altercation between the two stars could have been avoided entirely.
"One bad play begets another bad play, that's it. Don't grab me," O'Neal continued.
Barkley, wanting to get the last word in, reiterated that Green should have just moved or walked away from Sabonis, even if his leg and ankle were being held by the 7-foot center.
As it stands, Green obviously is defending his decision to step on Sabonis while the latter claims that there is "no room" for those kinds of actions in today's game. Furthermore, Green reportedly is seeking to get an X-ray on his ankle, alleging that Sabonis' actions have injured his ankle.
RELATED: Draymond defends stepping on Domas, explains Game 2 ejection
Whatever the case might be, it's clear that Green's actions have divided the NBA landscape. At any rate, there certainly won't be any love lost between the NorCal rivals when the two match up for Game 3 on Thursday at Chase Center.