Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal shared his reaction to Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green saying that LeBron James is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) over Michael Jordan.
“I like Draymond, that’s his opinion,” O’Neal said. “I like people when they have opinions in this world. You know, the problem we have is when some certain person has an opinion and you don’t like it.”
O’Neal didn’t agree with Green, but he didn’t lay into the Warriors forward either.
“I’m not going to go off,” O’Neal said. “That’s his opinion. My guy is Dr. J (Julius Erving) slash Mike. That’s my guy.”
The debate about whether James or Jordan is the greatest player of all time may go on forever, but it’s nice to see that O’Neal isn’t going to ridicule Green for his selection.
O’Neal was actually fortunate enough to compete against both Jordan and James during his impressive NBA career, and he was teammates with James for a short period on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A comparison of LeBron James and Michael Jrdaon
Both James and Jordan have a ton of career accolades, but James is still playing with the Lakers at the moment. He is on pace to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, and he already has four NBA titles to his name.
Jordan’s resume is still tough to touch. The Chicago Bulls legend was a 14-time All-Star and five-time MVP during his storied career. He is a Hall of Famer, won 10 scoring titles, six NBA titles and was named NBA Finals MVP six times.
For his career, Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field.
James’ playmaking ability is where he may surpass Jordan, but it’s so hard to compare these two great players since they also played in different eras.
Green, who competed against James in four straight NBA Finals while James was with the Cavs, knows just how tough it is to beat him in a seven-game series.
Right now, James is looking to add to his amazing career resume with the Lakers. The team has won one NBA title since he joined prior to the 2018-19 season, but it missed the playoffs last season.
Now, James is trying to lead a bounce-back season alongside Anthony Davis. The Lakers started the 2022-23 campaign slowly, but they have won eight of their last 12 games.
If James adds another title to his resume, he may be able to change O’Neal’s mind about who is the G.O.A.T.
