At least Shaquille O’Neal has a sense of humor about being left of the Mount Rushmore of Los Angeles Lakers named by Lil Wayne.
The legendary big man cried some fake tears on social media after watching the rapper put him on then take him off his Lakers’ all-time foursome.
View this post on Instagram
After at first naming Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and O’Neal, the musical artist backtracked and replaced him with LeBron James.
“Kareem, Magic, Kobe, Shaq,” the rapper said when naming his Mount Rushmore of Lakers. “Oh, I’m sorry — Kobe, LeBron.”
It may be a classic case of recency bias, because if based on time just with the Lakers, O’Neal arguably belongs on any top four list ahead of his fellow NBA icon. Start with the fact that the mammoth center won three NBA championships in eight seasons with the Lakers while James has just one entering his sixth campaign with them.
O’Neal also ranks in the top five of Lakers history in minutes, points and rebounds per game. James is in the top two for points and assists per game and was with the Lakers when he surpassed Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history last season.
Ranking the best of the all-time greats on a team with such a long and successful history as the Lakers is always a difficult task. But it seems like O’Neal is often on the outside looking in on those various lists.
Just this summer, the current TNT analyst reacted when current owner Jeanie Buss didn’t name him among her five most important Lakers. He also took issue with Julius Erving leaving him off his list of top 10 players of all time (Bryant and James didn’t make the list, either).
James still has the opportunity to add to his Lakers legacy after opening his 21st NBA season on Tuesday. Though the 38-year-old reportedly will have his workload managed more so than in the past, he already has shown in confronting the coaching staff that he still has the belief he can contribute in major ways on the court.
If that leads to another NBA championship for the Lakers, maybe O’Neal will show himself crying some happy tears afterward.
