Shaquille O'Neal Doubts Los Angeles Lakers' Title Hopes After Austin Reaves’ Wild Missed Free Throw vs Denver Nuggets

On most nights in the NBA, a missed free throw is simply a mistake. On Saturday night in Los Angeles, it became the moment that defined the entire game. In a thrilling showdown at Crypto.com Arena, the LA Lakers pulled off a dramatic 127–125 overtime victory against the Denver Nuggets.

Yet the play that sparked celebration among Lakers fans, an intentionally missed free throw by Austin Reaves that led to a tying basket, also ignited criticism from franchise legend Shaquille O’Neal.

For O’Neal, the ending was proof that the Lakers still lack the championship habits required to contend for a title. His blunt assessment sparked an immediate debate on national television, with Kenny Smith offering a different perspective. The result was a fascinating clash of opinions about whether the Lakers’ dramatic victory was evidence of clutch brilliance or a warning sign about their true ceiling.

In the end, the Lakers walked away with one of their most dramatic wins of the season. Overcoming a late deficit and surviving overtime against a strong opponent demonstrated resilience and belief inside the locker room. Are the Lakers a group capable of grinding out tough victories against elite competition, or are these dramatic finishes masking deeper inconsistencies?

1. Austin Reaves’ Intentional Miss Creates One of the Season’s Wildest Moments

Late-game chaos has become a defining feature of the modern NBA, but even by those standards, the closing seconds between the Lakers and Nuggets were extraordinary. With Los Angeles trailing by two points and only a couple of seconds left on the clock, Reaves stepped to the free-throw line knowing that simply making the shot would not guarantee a win. Instead of taking the conventional route, Reaves opted for a calculated gamble. He intentionally missed the free throw, hoping the ball would bounce in a way that allowed him to recover it before the defense could react. The play required perfect timing, awareness, and a bit of luck—all ingredients that make such tactics incredibly difficult to execute in a high-pressure moment. The gamble paid off. Reaves managed to retrieve his own miss and immediately floated the ball into the basket, tying the game and sending the arena into a frenzy. What could have been the final possession of a loss instantly became a momentum-shifting highlight that forced overtime. Plays like this rarely happen because of how precise the circumstances must be. The rebound must come off the rim just right, the player must position himself perfectly, and defenders must be momentarily out of place. Any slight miscalculation could have resulted in the Nuggets securing the rebound and sealing the victory. Instead, the moment gave the Lakers new life. In overtime, that second chance proved crucial as Luka Dončić ultimately delivered the game-winning basket with less than a second remaining.

2. Shaquille O’Neal Questions Whether the Lakers Have Championship Habits

Despite the dramatic finish, O’Neal wasn’t impressed. Speaking after the game, the Hall of Fame center offered a blunt assessment that immediately grabbed attention across NBA media. From O’Neal’s perspective, a true contender should not need a miracle sequence at home to escape with a win. He argued that championship-level teams establish control early in games and maintain that dominance throughout four quarters. He said, “If you have to rely on that you’re not going to win and not being a contender. I’m used to playing for coaches who wouldn’t be happy with that game. When you talk about championships, you have to build championship habits. So when you’re up with a big lead, championship habits say, ‘Hey, we’re up 16, let’s put them away in the third quarter so we can rest in the fourth quarter.’ That’s championship habits. If you have to rely on that, you’re not gonna win, and you’re not gonna be a contender.” O’Neal’s comments stem from his own experience with championship teams during his time with the Lakers. The teams he helped lead to titles were known for imposing their will on opponents and closing games before late drama could even develop. According to O’Neal, the fact that Los Angeles needed a last-second improvisation from Reaves revealed a deeper problem. In his view, relying on chaotic endings rather than disciplined execution is not a formula that consistently produces playoff success.

3. A 17-Point Lead Slips Away as the Nuggets Storm Back

O’Neal’s argument wasn’t based solely on the final possession. The larger issue, in his mind, was the way the Lakers allowed the game to become close in the first place. Early in the contest, Los Angeles looked dominant. The Lakers jumped out to a strong start, controlling the tempo and building a comfortable advantage that energized the home crowd. At one point in the second quarter, the Lakers led by as many as 17 points. Against a high-level opponent like Denver, that type of lead should have positioned them to dictate the rest of the game. Instead, the momentum gradually shifted. The Nuggets began to chip away at the deficit, exploiting defensive lapses and capitalizing on the Lakers’ inconsistent third-quarter performance. By the end of the third period, the game had completely flipped. Denver erased the deficit and turned what once looked like a comfortable Lakers win into a tightly contested battle. These kinds of swings are precisely what concern critics like O’Neal. Championship teams are typically defined by their ability to maintain focus and avoid the prolonged stretches of inconsistency that allow opponents back into games. Not everyone agreed with O’Neal’s harsh assessment, though. On the same broadcast, Kenny Smith offered a counterargument that placed the game within a broader competitive context. Smith acknowledged that the criticism might make sense if the Lakers were playing against a struggling team near the bottom of the standings. However, he emphasized that Denver represents a far different challenge.

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• Shaquille O'Neal
• Austin Reaves