Shaquille O'Neal Defends Daryl Morey Over China Comments, 'He Was Right'

"Daryl Morey was right. Whenever you see something going wrong anywhere in the world, you should have the right to say that's not right."

Shaquille O'Neal just went to bat for Houston Rockets' Daryl Morey over his China comments that started an NBA firestorm ... saying the heat the GM is taking ain't fair.

"We're allowed to say what we want to say and we're allowed to speak up about injustices and that's just how it goes," Shaq said on "Inside The NBA" on Tuesday.

"And, if people don't understand that, that's something that they have to deal with."

Of course, Morey started a massive international incident for the NBA earlier this month when he tweeted his support for protesters in Hong Kong.

LeBron James bashed the guy for the comments ... and even Adam Silver -- who said DM wouldn't be punished for the comments -- admitted the tweet cost the league a lot of cash.

But, Shaq stood up for Morey before the NBA's season officially tipped off Tuesday ... saying he thinks the guy was right to voice his opinion.

"We as American people do a lot of business in China," Shaq said. "And, they know and understand our values. And, we understand their values. And, one of our best values here in America is free speech."

We spoke with NBA legend and fellow "Inside The NBA" host Charles Barkley earlier this week and he also weighed in on the controversy ... defending LeBron.

As for the NBA, when we spoke with Silver out in NYC last week ... he told us he's still working to repair the league's relationship with China.