Shaquille O’Neal reevaluates Michael Jordan’s ‘GOAT’ status after acknowledging LeBron James’ candidacy.
Shaquille O’Neal has insisted for years that Michael Jordan is the best player of all time in the NBA. During a 2022 appearance on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive Podcast, Shaq reiterated his past stance on selecting Michael Jordan as a top player while saying LeBron James has also done great things. O’Neal also personally gave higher evaluations to players such as Dr. J (Julius Erving) and Magic Johnson.
“I think the greatest player is Michael Jordan. LeBron is about to do something that hasn’t been done in a long time and I think he’s going to move his name out there, but to me it’s always Dr. J, Michael “Jordan, Magic, those guys,” O’Neal said.
A year and a half later, however, Shaquille O’Neal is singing a different tune. In his latest post shared by Shaquille O’Neal on Instagram, he named LeBron James as the best player in basketball. Has Shaq gently changed his long-held views on the topic?
LeBron James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record may be the reason Shaquille O’Neal has changed his mind
On March 2, 2024, LeBron James made NBA history in a thrilling game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. James became the first player in history to score an incredible 40,000 career points. It happened in the second quarter when he scored on a layup to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record of 38,387 points.
About 1.5 years ago, Shaquille O’Neal saw that LeBron James had extraordinary scoring ability. He realizes that LeBron could surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a different statistical category.
Have Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James ever shared the court?
Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James were teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2009-2010 NBA season. However, their time in court was short-lived. At 37 years old, Shaquille is approaching the end of his career. He averaged 12 points and nearly 7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, LeBron is 25 and just entering his prime. He put up incredible numbers averaging nearly 30 points per game, along with over 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
Despite the age gap and Shaquille’s declining dominance, the two still led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference semifinals that year. After that season, LeBron left for the Miami Heat and Shaquille retired soon after.