Over the last two decades of NBA basketball, two of the most impressive teams to take the floor have been the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.
The Warriors were led by the likes of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and the Lakers were, of course, led by Shaquille O’Neal and the late, great Kobe Bryant.
Recently, Curry went so far as to claim that he believes his Warriors from that 2017 year would beat the 2001 Lakers in a hypothetical matchup.
In an unsurprising move, O’Neal was quick to respond with a differing opinion.
Steph and Shaq went back-and-forth on a ’17 Warriors vs. ’01 Lakers matchup
Who would win? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/dMkqr2Ncle
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 21, 2022
In the end, NBA fans will have to simply imagine the matchup. Perhaps the closest fans will ever get to seeing such a series is by simulating games in the latest edition of NBA 2K.
When the 2001 Lakers won the NBA title by dominating the Philadelphia 76ers, they were right in the middle of an eventual three-peat that they would complete in the following season.
As for the Warriors, they’ve won four of the last eight NBA championships. They’ve been in all but two of those series during that span of time.
Without a doubt, both the 2017 Warriors and 2001 Lakers are two of the most legendary rosters ever compiled. It’s fun to consider the possibilities a matchup between the two teams would bring.
However, in the end, basketball fans are simply lucky that they got to experience the incredibly high level of basketball that was played by both teams. It will likely be a long time until a team that can challenge either arises in the NBA.
