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Lakers coach shares surprising similarity between LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal

Published by
Peter Dewey

Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Mike Penberthy compared superstar LeBron James to Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal in an exclusive interview with Lakers Daily.

Penberthy also compared Anthony Davis to the late Kobe Bryant, showing just how similar the Lakers’ current duo of stars is compared to the Bryant-O’Neal duo in the early 2000s.

“Shaq had the ability to make other people better,” Penberthy said. “LeBron made other people better. A.D. and Kobe were more of the assassins of the group. They’re looking to score and looking to get the ball. Not that they couldn’t make other people better, but they were more valuable to the team scoring.”

It is no secret that James makes the players around him better.

The 16-time All-Star led the league in assists per game this season with 10.2.

In addition, he and Rajon Rondo continued to break down zone defenses throughout the season and playoffs to help the Lakers capture the NBA title.

James has spent two seasons in Los Angeles and has already brought a title back to the city.

Now, the Lakers hope that the duo of James and Davis can help them go on a dynastic run like O’Neal and Bryant did.

Time will tell, but these two seem as equipped as any to make it happen.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

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