Shaquille O’Neal has boldly claimed that NBA players in today’s era don’t fear LeBron James like they did back when Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan used to play, as his opinion leaves fans split with some claiming the NBA icon has ‘zero idea’.
O’Neal – a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA TNT analyst – dished out his take while talking with former Heat guard Mario Chalmers, who won two rings with James in Miami, on ‘The Big Podcast,’ co-hosted by none other than ‘Shaq Daddy’ himself.
‘I’ve heard players say, including myself, ”I feared Mike [Jordan].” I’ve heard players in [Chalmers’] generation say they feared Kobe,’ O’Neal said, at first.
‘I’ve never really heard any player say they feared LeBron.’
O’Neal went on to describe James as a ‘nice guy’ after Chalmers said that he once faced backlash in the past for having the same opinion as the former big man.
Shaquille O’Neal described LeBron James as a ‘nice guy’, suggesting players don not fear him
James prefers to be liked than to be feared due to criticism he’s faced throughout his career, claims former Heat teammate Mario Chalmers
Shaq insists that players of his generation feared Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan more than today’s crop of hoopers fear James
‘I got killed for that,’ Chalmers said. ‘I didn’t think that players really feared LeBron, like they did Jordan.
Shaq says he never heard a player say they feared LeBron James
“I’ve heard players say, including myself, ‘I feared [Michael Jordan].’ I’ve heard players in [Mario Chalmers’s] generation say they feared Kobe. I’ve never really heard any player say they feared LeBron.”
(🎥… pic.twitter.com/nTObkiGKmP
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 13, 2024
‘I’ve never heard anybody say it,’ Shaq added before Chalmers clarified his take.
‘It’s not that players shouldn’t fear LeBron,’ Chalmers said, adding: ‘I just think… at the end of the day, ‘Bron has been through so much that he wanted to be liked.
‘So, it was kind of like… ”I’m going to do things now so that people like me, people respect me.” I mean [people are] always going to respect what [he] did but you’re actually going to like ‘Bron and want to be a fan of ‘Bron now. So I think that’s what that was…’
Chalmers won two rings with James during their time together on the Heat in the mid 2000’s
Bewildered by both former players’ opinion of the Los Angeles Lakers star, fans pointed to James’ playoff record in the Eastern Conference during his days on the Cleveland Cavaliers, as evidence that opponents didn’t want to matchup against the four-time NBA champion and his teammates.
‘Just ask any player in the eastern conference in the 2010’s that same question,’ a user on X (Twitter) shared.
Raptors would like a word with Shaq
— NBA ATLAS (@NBA_ATLAS) March 13, 2024
‘Raptors would like a word with Shaq’ another tweeted, referring to James’ 12-2 playoff record against Toronto in his career.
not a bron fan but that nigga dominated the entire east for a decade
— maxeypad (@hardenedmane) March 13, 2024
A different user said: ‘Lebron certainly was feared in the East during his prime, stop it.’