Shaquille O’Neal Thought Chauncey Billups Was the Pistons’ Coach

The Detroit Pistons are having an incredible season, especially compared to the past five years. Heading into the season, it'd be fair to write them off as afterthoughts. But as we near the NBA Playoffs, the Pistons are a dangerous team.

As of this writing, the Pistons are 37-29 and have all but officially locked up a playoff spot. With roughly a month until the NBA postseason begins, it's getting harder and harder to ignore Detroit basketball.

Some folks are catching on a touch slower than others, though.

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There are few in the NBA media landscape who are more brutally honest than the legendary Shaquille O'Neal. He's always been in the business of championship basketball, so, understandably, the NBA's top contenders are the only teams he's focused on throughout the season.

On a recent episode of his podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq, O'Neal admitted that he doesn't watch the Pistons and gave a hearty “whoopie freaking do” in response to the Pistons' 2025 success - which isn't exactly how he'd define the season anyway.

“That’s not success,” O’Neal said. “Detroit Pistons ain’t winning no f***ing championship. Stop it.”

After making some jokes about the Pistons' "success" on his show, Shaq spoke on the Pistons' All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham with a touch more kindness on the TNT Postgame show Tuesday night.

“Cade Cunningham — a great player now, he plays at his own pace. Anybody that can consistently play at their own pace and put up numbers is a great player,” O’Neal said. “I like the way he’s playing. I like what Chauncey’s doing. Those guys play hard.”

“No, I can’t let this go. Who’s doing it?” co-host Candace Parker asked. “You said Chauncey?”

“Chauncey’s the coach, right?” O’Neal responded.

No, Shaq, Chauncey Billups - while, yes, a Detroit basketball icon - is not the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. He coaches the Portland Trail Blazers, which are 28-38 and likely to miss the playoffs.

Once Shaq was informed that JB Bickerstaff is, in fact, coaching the Detroit Pistons to their most 'successful' season since 2018, he clarified all of his confusions surrounding the team.

“First of all, I don’t watch Detroit. How about that, boo-boo?” Shaq quipped. “I messed up. I made a mistake.”

Maybe if Shaq suited up for a seventh team and spent a year in Detroit, he'd have a bit more appreciation for Pistons basketball.

All jokes aside, O'Neal will surely give the Pistons praise precisely when he determines they are worthy of it. That might be a year or two away, but Pistons fans are confident the combination of Cunningham and Bickerstaff will get them there.