Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal believes that a team featuring himself, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan would beat a team led by LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
O’Neal shared a photo on Instagram to state his case. He also had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson on his team, while James’ squad had Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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While this hypothetical game would never happen, basketball fans can certainly dream about all of this talent being on the floor at one time.
The goal of the matchup appeared to be pitting some of the greatest retired players in NBA history against some of the best players in the league today.
O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion and the 1999-00 regular season MVP, is clearly confident in his abilities and his teammates, to win this game.
Both of these teams would have insane star talent on them, and James and Jordan are widely considered to be the two greatest players in NBA history.
The matchups across the board would be great, and it would be a treat to be able to watch O’Neal battle things out with Embiid in the post.
A Hall of Famer, O’Neal is one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA. He won two scoring titles during his career, three NBA Finals MVP awards and was a huge part of the Lakers’ success in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
During his playing career, O’Neal was a 15-time All-Star and averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 58.2 percent from the field.
That would be tough for anyone to stop, including Embiid or Antetokounmpo in this hypothetical game.
While the Lakers legend wasn’t much of a shooter, he was a dominant low-post player, something that isn’t as common in today’s game.
This hypothetical matchup would certainly be a clash of styles, as the modern team would likely shoot the ball a lot more from beyond the arc, especially Curry.
O’Neal, who last played in the NBA in the 2010-11 season for the Boston Celtics, has weighed in on this matchup. It will be interesting to see if other players chime in with their thoughts on which squad would win.
