Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal shared an interesting matchup between two superteams on his Instagram.
O’Neal wasn’t positive that his team – which features Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Karl Malone and himself – would be able to win this matchup.
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The other team features a bunch of NBA legends as well, including Derrick Rose, Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Rose may be the worst player on this entire list, and that’s only because he suffered knee injuries that limited his prime. The veteran guard is still playing, signing a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason.
Even though Rose may not have as many accolades as Curry, he still is a former league MVP and was one of the most dynamic players in the NBA at his peak.
The rest of the rosters are filled with Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers, which would make this matchup quite interesting.
O’Neal believes that it would go seven games, and he may be right with arguably the two greatest players of all time (James and Jordan) on opposite sides.
Obviously, O’Neal, Bryant and Malone all played together with the Lakers in the 2003-04 season, although Malone was at the end of his career.
Bryant and O’Neal won three titles during their time together with the Lakers, and they are arguably one of the greatest duos in NBA history.
It’s surprising not to see O’Neal have full confidence in his squad to win it all, but it shows just how much respect he has for the players on the other team. Erving, Jordan and Olajuwon all led their teams to championships during their careers, and Barkley was a dominant player for several seasons playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.
Lakers fans certainly would love to see the Bryant-James-O’Neal trio dominate, and the addition of a shooter like Curry would make the team lethal in a seven-game series.
While we truly will never know the outcome of these hypothetical teams facing off, it’s great to see former players weigh in on who they think would win.
