LeBron James took to Instagram and responded in jest to a comparison between him and former Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal in light of the latter saying that players don’t fear James.
“I’ve heard players say — including myself — ‘I feared Mike (Michael Jordan),’” O’Neal said. “I’ve heard players in your generation say they feared Kobe [Bryant]. I’ve never really heard any players say they fear LeBron.”
James responded to a post that pointed out he has a whopping 1,210 consecutive games with 10-plus points, while O’Neal played in 1,207 total games in his NBA career.
James has more pressing matters to worry about than his legacy right now, though. The Lakers have far from punched their ticket to the 2024 playoffs, as the team sits as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference with a 37-32 record. Los Angeles is ahead of the Golden State Warriors — the No. 10 seed in the conference — by just one game.
The Lakers recently lost two games in a row, with their losses coming against the Sacramento Kings on March 13 and Warriors on March 16. But the team managed snap its losing streak with a win over Jalen Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks on March 18.
James scored the second-most points on the team behind only D’Angelo Russell — who has had some great offensive performances in March and dropped 44 points against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the month — with 25 and also dropped seven rebounds and 10 assists on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from deep in the Lakers’ 31-point victory.
Los Angeles’ next three games are all against opponents with records above the .500 mark. First, the Lakers will play the Philadelphia 76ers on March 22. The 76ers have cooled off in recent months after a hot start to the season due to Joel Embiid’s extended absence, but they are still the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference at 38-30 and have won their last two games.
After taking on the 76ers, the Lakers will then play the Indiana Pacers on March 24, who are right behind Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference standings at the moment as the No. 7 seed.
Finally, the Lakers will wrap up a difficult stretch of their regular-season schedule against the Bucks on March 26.
