As expected, Shaq sided with the team including him, saying that they would vanquish the 2010/2020s all-time great team with ease.
The discussion around the game of basketball rarely gets as heated as it does when comparing superstars across eras. The Michael Jordan versus LeBron James debate, among other drawn-out, impossible to settle disputes, will rage on, perhaps even through the end of time as we know it. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped everyone with a pulse from chiming in on the discussion. Even Shaquille O’Neal, a legend of the game, couldn’t help but say his piece regarding the matter.
On Sunday night, Shaquille O’Neal posted a photo of two superstar-laden lineups across different eras squaring off against each other on the court. The 2010/2020-era team includes LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, while the 1980/1990-era lineup includes Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, O’Neal, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
And, as expected, O’Neal sided with the team including him, saying that they would vanquish the opposing team in six games in a hypothetical seven-game series.
“Four games to two. You already know who I’m with. Don’t ask me. Also who’s guarding me?!” O’Neal wrote.
Four games to two. You already know who I’m with. Don’t ask me. Also who’s guarding me?! pic.twitter.com/rjBcnyXAOR
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 16, 2023
That is a reasonable question from Shaquille O’Neal, although if there’s anyone that appears to be best-suited to guard Shaq in today’s NBA, it’s Joel Embiid. O’Neal is arguably the most physically imposing interior presence of all time in the NBA, and try as anyone might, it’ll be extremely difficult to guard someone of his size, explosiveness, strength, and soft touch.
However, all these discussions do is stoke needless comparisons which make those wrapped up in this kind of discourse lose sight of the greatness of every player involved. All of the players in the picture O’Neal posted have won a ring except for Joel Embiid, with a combined total of 34 rings among them. Make no mistake about it, these kinds of thought exercises can be fun. However, it should not come at the cost of appreciating each and everyone’s accomplishments.