When Shaquille O’Neal weighs in on a topic, he brings a considerable amount of weight, but he can also be counted on to provide an idiosyncratic perspective. Given how the MJ-vs.-LeBron debate refuses to die, it was only a matter of time before Shaq was asked for his opinion, and of course, O’Neal was ready with one.
Just to get everyone up to speed, the debate heated up recently when Michael Jordan responded to a kid at his basketball by saying there was “no question” that, in his prime, he could defeat LeBron James one-on-one. The Cavs star was then asked about that by the “Today” show, and, not surprisingly, he said, “Oh, I take myself.”
Well, that didn’t resolve anything! So it was up to O’Neal to play arbiter, at least during a recent visit to Hong Kong. Who ya got, Shaq?
“Mike,” said O’Neal (via AFP). “I think you have to go with a young Jordan every time.” …
“It would be an interesting game,” O’Neal continued. “Young LeBron was more like [Lakers Hall of Famer] Magic Johnson. He was sort of like Magic with Jordan’s abilities. He liked to pass, and he liked to get it up.
“But Mike was Mike. He was just special, like no one else. He always did things no one else could do, and things you couldn’t compare to anyone else. So he was special, and he’d win.”
Jordan was so special, he went to the NBA Finals six times, and won all six times. As it happens, James has also been to the Finals six times thus far in his career, and he has won twice. Distinct advantage, MJ.
On the other hand, there’s no doubt that James is the more imposing physical specimen, with arguably a wider range of skills. Plus, he’s dragged worse teams to the Finals than Jordan ever did, and … wait, does Shaq have more to say?
“I’ve seen young Mike and young LeBron and I must say Dr. J is still my favorite player,” said O’Neal (via AFP). “A lot of people today don’t even mention his name but to me I still think he was the best.”
Wow, big props from the Big Aristotle to Julius Erving. It does seem like Dr. J gets treated like the NBA’s forgotten superstar, as best-ever conversations often include Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain but skip right past Erving’s 1970s heyday to Magic, Larry Bird, Jordan and LeBron.
Part of the problem is that Erving spent his first five professional seasons in the ABA, meaning that fewer people saw him actually play until he came to the NBA’s 76ers in 1976. He won two titles in the ABA (with the Nets), but just one in the NBA; similarly, he won three MVP awards in the ABA, but just one in the NBA.
So how would Dr. J fare against either Jordan or James? O’Neal, ever the philosopher, told his Hong Kong audience that “these are questions that we’ll never know the answer to.” He then offered this food for thought:
“It’s a bit like if I met Bruce Lee in an alleyway. Who would win? You’ll never know. Some people say well Bruce would kick Shaq’s ass. Some people say well Shaq is two times bigger than Bruce Lee. It’s a good question, a good conversation. But we’ll never know.”
Indeed we won’t, but it’s worth pointing out that the two scenarios posited by Shaq don’t really conflict. Just about everyone with a functional pair of eyes would say that Shaq was twice as big as Lee, but the same group could easily assert that Lee would still kick O’Neal’s, er, rear.
Indeed we won’t, but it’s worth pointing out that the two scenarios posited by Shaq don’t really conflict. Just about everyone with a functional pair of eyes would say that Shaq was twice as big as Lee, but the same group could easily assert that Lee would still kick O’Neal’s, er, rear.
The real takeaway here is that this is a very unfortunate conversation for James. Measuring up to Jordan’s legacy is an almost impossible task, and the inevitable reduction to Finals performances does a disservice to James’s own distinct excellence.
That said, Shaq was right. At least about the Jordan part — the Dr. J claim is another matter entirely.
By washingtonpost
