“That Would Be the Most-Watched Finals in History”: Shaquille O’Neal Wanted an Epic Final Stand off Against Kobe Bryant in 2009

After winning 3 back to back NBA titles for the LA Lakers, Shaquille O’Neal became a bit of a journeyman in the NBA. In 2009, he wound up at the Cleveland Cavaliers in a roster that had a 25-year-old LeBron James in his prime. While the Cavaliers did not manage to make it out of the Eastern Conference, Shaquille O’Neal claimed that a clash between the two teams would have been the most-watched finals of all time.

The LA Lakers eventually came up against the Boston Celtics in the finals. The Celtics had ousted the Lakers in the Conference finals, stealing the chance for a potentially historic NBA Finals featuring O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron.

Shaquille O’Neal wanted to face Kobe Bryant in the 2009 NBA Finals

While O’Neal and Bryant formed one of the most famous duos in the NBA of all time, they did not have the most consistent of relationships. The two had their fair share of falling outs, and O’Neal eventually left the Lakers for the Miami Heat in 2004.

5 years later, he wound up at the Cleveland Cavaliers for a solitary season (2009-10). The Cavaliers boasted of a red-hot LeBron James who averaged over 29 points that season.

Regardless, they were ousted by a Boston Celtics team that had the likes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and a 23-year old Rajon Rondo. The Celtics lost the Finals against the Lakers with Bryant and Pau Gasol starring for the Lakers.

Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant • Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers🐍💛💜💛
December 25, 2009 📸 pic.twitter.com/3hULUSRyg9

— Basketball Forever (@clutchnewsports) March 27, 2023

There is little doubt that a potential final between the Lakers and the Cavaliers would have been a blockbuster event. O’Neal even claimed that it would be the most-watched finals in the history of the league:

 “That would be the most-watched Finals in history; I know it would. It would be good for the game. When I’m done playing, I’m not going to say [Kobe] got four or he got five. I’m not into that. I’m blessed, and I know for a fact if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have my four. I was blessed to play with a guy like him, and he was blessed to play with a guy like me.”

Shaq believes he was blessed to play with Kobe

Despite the issues they had during their time together, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal also shared a huge amount of respect for each other. Bryant believed that O’Neal had the potential to become the best player of all time, but not the drive.

On the other hand, Shaquille O’Neal also spoke about Kobe highly and won 4 NBA championships alongside him. There is little doubt that a potential showdown between the two in the NBA finals would have been a blockbuster event.

Shaq:

“When it comes to top 10, you got the GOAT (Kobe, Lebron, and Mike), most dominant (Wilt and myself), greatest shooter of all time Steph Curry is in there by itself. Only 10 players is hard. You got to take somebody out but you ain't gonna take me out!" pic.twitter.com/OUf4t17JR6

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 3, 2023

The two players never came up against each other in Playoff situations, although there were a total of 11 regular season games they played against each other in. O’Neal holds the better record of 7-4, but that is also because he often found himself in stacked teams, namely the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.