It has been over a decade since Shaquille O’Neal played his final NBA game. However, Shaq is as involved in the league as any other active player. He is part of the Emmy winning Inside the NBA show on TNT and graces our television screens every week. Although for the most part, Shaq is only reminding people about his 4 rings, his constant banter with Barkley and Shaqtin A Fool makes the show entertaining.
As a former Laker, he is just as appalled as the fans watching LeBron James and co miss the playoffs this season. During his 8-year tenure with the LA Lakers, he never missed the playoffs let alone being sub 0.500. To watch his team perform in this manner is visibly difficult for Shaq.
No wonder he reacted the way he did when comparisons between the dynamic duo of Kobe and O’Neal were being compared to LeBron and AD.
Shaq and Kobe are undeniably better than LeBron James and Anthony Davis
With Phil Jackson as the head coach, Shaq and Kobe won three championships in a row for the Los Angeles Lakers. No one could defeat this duo except for their own personal differences. They split up after 7 successful seasons with O’Neal joining Dwyane Wade’s Miami Heat for his fourth and final ring.
The 4x champion appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s show in 2020 when Kobe was still alive and the Lakers were taking the NBA by storm with newly acquired Anthony Davis. They were the favorites to win that season and played like title contenders as well. On the show, Shaquille O’Neal discussed his kids, and surprisingly his youngest daughter is the best basketball player in the family. Needless to say apart from Shaq.
The competitiveness actually stops him from taking on his kids on the court. As it turns out, once Shaq is suited up he doesn’t care if its babies or old Grannies. The 2x scoring champion will go all out.
Jimmy Fallon pulled out an edit with Kobe and Shaq playing against LeBron and Davis. It was beautifully meshed to make it look realistic. When asked if the current Lakers duo could beat Bryant and himself, Shaq scoffed.
While Kobe is a shooting guard, O’Neal plays the center position. Both James and AD play forward position. It is not a good matchup, to begin with, but for the sake of comparison, one would side with Shaq. Stats and rings clearly show which duo has achieved more but even in 2v2 Shaq asks a very legitimate question, “Who will guard me?”.
This 7’1 giant was unguardable in his prime and even a big man like Anthony Davis cannot keep up with him let alone LeBron James. With the disastrous 2021-22 season still looming over their head, it is a lot easier to come to this conclusion.