Shaquille O’Neal Says LeBron James Is Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant Combined

There’s no doubt that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is a generational talent.

In fact, many believe that he is the most physically talented player to ever grace an NBA court.

In a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Heavy.com, Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal broke down just how special James is as he compared him to past NBA greats.

“Penny [Hardaway] was a young Magic Johnson and I was a young Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]. Kobe [Bryant] was a young Michael Jordan before he became Michael Jordan,” said O’Neal. “And LeBron was both of them combined. And D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) was Kobe when he was coming into his own. I’ll just put it like that.”

Clearly, O’Neal has quite a bit of respect for James to mention him alongside several of the game’s greatest players.

Prior to the suspension of games due to the novel coronavirus, James seemed ready to make a push to win the MVP award. If he were to win the MVP, it would be the fifth time in his career.

Currently, only three players have won more MVP awards than James’ four. That group includes Bill Russell and Jordan, who both won the award five times, and Abdul-Jabbar, who won the award six times.

Hopefully, games start up against soon so that fans can see if James has what it takes to join those three legends in that rarified air.