*By Max Godnick*
Not everyone is rooting for the Golden State Warriors to continue their dominance after announcing plans to sign a fifth All-Star in Demarcus Cousins.
And those naysayers can now add the sport's most iconic, bellowing voice to its chorus of criticism.
"I think it's a little bit broken," said Shaquille O'Neal about the state of the NBA in an interview with Cheddar on Friday.
The four-time NBA champion and and 15-time All-Star is no stranger to success on the league's biggest stage. During his 19-year career, he played alongside current and future Hall of Famers including Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. But none of his teams started five of the best players in the league or required the same free-agency acrobatics necessary to construct the Oakland behemoth.
And the unprecedented consolidation of elite talent has [some](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-golden-state-warriors-have-broken-the-nba-1530619138) sounding the alarm about the death of the league's competitive balance.
"I just miss the days where guys would compete against each other," O'Neal said, looking back on the storied, and largely equal, rivalries between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and IsiahThomas, and Shaq's own Lakers and Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs.
The NBA has seen a social-media-driven renaissance over the past decade. It leads the other major American sports leagues in Twitter and Instagram followers and has spawned a digital ecosystem of memes, hot takes, jokes, and real-time commentary that has allowed its popularity to reach new heights.
O'Neal said the digital landscape created a win-now atmosphere that's fueled the rise of "superteams" like the Warriors.
"There's so much pressure on these kids to win," he said, adding, "everybody wants to be a winner, so a lot of these guys are taking the easy route just to get a championship."
It's hard to say LeBron James is taking shortcuts on his path to winning an elusive fourth title. The superstar just announced he'll sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for a four-year, $154 million contract. But unlike his stints in Miami or Cleveland, James won't be immediately joined by a fellow All-Star on his new team.
"LeBron is going to need a lot more help if he wants to compete with the Golden State Warriors," said O'Neal.
The 'Inside the NBA' analyst played for the Lakers from 1996 to 2004, winning three championships along the way. He said he thinks James "will do great" on the team, but thinks management should find a way to trade for disgruntled San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard if they hope to put up a fight against the Warriors - a group Shaq called, "the most talented team in NBA history."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-shaq-thinks-the-nba-is-broken)
Nearly 150 victims of Larry Nassar's sexual misconduct stood on stage Wednesday during the ESPY Awards to accept the Arthur Ashe prize for courage. Josh Hill, Senior Editor at FanSided, explains that their visibility will raise general awareness for sexual abuse, far beyond the arena of sports.
The pro wrestler and his wife's new reality show, "Miz and Mrs," debuts on USA July 24. The Miz tells Cheddar that if he had to fight a tech titan, he'd pick Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "My recycling bin is out the roof. I need like three different recycling bins all filled with Amazon boxes because [Maryse] loves Amazon Prime."
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
* **Damage Control at the White House:** President Trump will meet with his cabinet today after widespread criticism of his comments spread following Monday's joint meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To appease his base,Trump declared yesterday that he simply misspoke during the presser--but some critics find that hard to believe.
* **Manafort Goes to Court:** The case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is moving forward--despite a denial of his team's request for a change of location. Manafort's team asked for the trial to be moved from Alexandria to Roanoke, believing that Alexandria's more liberal base would be less forgiving and attract more press.
* **University Doctor Under Fire:** A former Ohio State University doctor is accused of molesting student athletes after complaints surfaced from several ex-wrestlers--one of whom condemned is Congressman Jim Jordan for ignoring the allegations.
* **Vacancies at Comic-Con:** The 2018 Comic-Con kicks of in San Diego tonight. But some of the usual attendees will be missing: network HBO, the Avengers, X-Men and Deadpool will be among the absent guests.
* **American League Still Number One:** The American league clung to its title as reigning champ after it defeated the National League for the sixth straight year during last night's MLB All-Star game.
Cheddar Big News' Hena Doba gives us the details.
The golf superstar signed with TaylorMade back in 2017 but was out of the game that year due to a back surgery and a reckless driving incident. Since then, things have turned around for Woods. He's preparing to play in the British Open in just a few days and his "ball striking is terrific, his putting is great, and I think he’s in a great position right now to challenge,” says TaylorMade CEO David Abeles.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
Trump Faces Bipartisan Backlash
Russian Woman Charged With Election Meddling
Hawaii's 'Lava Bomb' Injures Tourists
Deadly Fire Near Yosemite National Park Doubles
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
*President Trump meets with Russian President Putin in Helsinki, Finland, days after the indictment of 12 Russian operatives for trying to disrupt the 2016 election.
*A federal judge blasts the HHS giving them one more week to reunite 2,000 families at the border after the administration missed the initial deadline.
*Protests erupted in Chicago over the weekend after a popular barber was shot and killed by the police.
*Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber won Wimbledon titles over the weekend. And France took home the World Cup.
Cheddar's Hope King gives us the details.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
*President Trump is in England preparing for a joint news conference with Theresa May. While the duo dined last night, The Sun newspaper published a sit-down interview with the president where he criticized May’s handling of Brexit. Trump warned trade deals with England could be nixed if Brexit isn’t handled properly.
*FBI agent Peter Strzok was removed from working on the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Trump-Russia investigation after text messages were discovered in which he criticized the president.
*Stormy Daniels made an encore appearance at the same strip club she was arrested at the night prior.
*A Kansas City water park will not reopen after a 10-year-old boy died on a water slide.
*Serena Williams beat Julia Görges of Germany yesterday to reach her 10th Wimbledon final.
Cheddar Big News's Jill Wagner gives us the details.
The Olympic gold medalist hosts “Wedding Cake Championship,” a new show on Food Network, with longtime friend and fellow figure skater Johnny Weir. While the new gig is worlds different from their athletic careers, there are still some similarities. “The competition part of it was fun,” Lipinski tells Cheddar.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
* Confusion at the NATO summit after President Trump said allies will add billions of dollars to defense spending. But French president Emmanuel Macron rebuffed those claims.
* Stormy Daniels was arrested after an alleged misdemeanor at a Columbus, Ohio, strip club. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has also been working to reunite families at the southern border.
* The U.S. Senate voted yesterday on a non-binding resolution giving it a say on what tariffs are levied and against whom.
* New evidence prompted the Department of Justice reopened the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed in 1955 in Money, Miss.
* John Schnatter, founder and former CEO of Papa John’s, has resigned his chairman role after a racially-charged comment on a conference call.
* Americans made it to both the men’s and women’s Wimbledon semifinals, the first time since 2009.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner tells us the latest.
