12 Years After Lambasting ‘0 Loyalty’ Following Chris Paul Lakers Trade, Shaquille O’Neal Resonates With DeMarcus Cousins’ ‘Not Top 5’ Take On Suns Guard

DeMarcus Cousins received a lot of criticism when he claimed that Chris Paul wasn’t a top-five all-time point guard. Even though Cousins has had a beef with CP3 in the past, he claimed to rank point guards on the basis of accolades. Shaquille O’Neal, who had a bizarre take on Paul’s potential trade to the Los Angeles Lakers 12 years ago, in 2011, seemed to agree with Cousin’s comments.

Back in 2011, the Los Angeles Lakers were nearing to finalize a trade deal. The blockbuster deal with the Charlotte Hornets would land Chris Paul on the Kobe Bryant-led roster. Unfortunately for Purple & Gold, David Stern decided to review the “franchise-altering” trade. Merely a couple of hours later, the deal was reportedly off. Shaquille O’Neal was among the numerous personalities from the basketball world who decided to chime in on the debate. Talking from a different perspective altogether, Shaq dissed the California franchise (a team he played 8 seasons for) for not showing any loyalty toward Pau Gasol.

Shaquille O’Neal shares his opinions on the inclusion of Chris Paul in the top 5 all-time PG list

More than 12 years after Shaquille O’Neal revealed his honest opinions regarding the Chris Paul-Lakers trade fiasco, the TNT analyst is back with another take regarding the Point God. The Big Aristotle shared a reel on his Instagram Story in which DeMarcus Cousins explained why he didn’t have CP3 as a top 5 all-time point guard.

Shaq shares story on Cousins claiming CP3 isn’t a top 5 PG of all time pic.twitter.com/B5nOk2lIWQ

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) September 25, 2023

On an appearance on the Outta Pocket podcast, DeMarcus gave flowers to Steve Nash, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, and Russell Westbrook. The former star with the Sacramento Kings claimed that his take was constructed from an achievement point of view.

“My question to you guys is, can we get a top-five all-time PGs list? Chris Paul shouldn’t be on that list. Every time I hear a top-five PGs list, Chris Paul is in it, and I’m not really understanding why. No knock to CP. Strictly from an accolade and a performance standpoint, I don’t think Chris Paul is top-five. We gotta bring up Steve Nash. We gotta bring up John Stockton. Then we gotta bring in Westbrook. I mean, he’s an MVP. CP doesn’t have that (MVP).”

 

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Not having a Championship has always had an ill effect on Paul’s legacy. Apart from never lifting the coveted Larry O’Brien or MVP trophy, the undersized guard has had a pretty-stacked resume – 12 All-Star appearances, 11 All-NBA selections, 9 All-Defensive selections, 5 assists titles, and 6 steal titles. While his inclusion on the top-5 point guard list could differ from person to person, no one can deny that CP3 has had a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.

Shaq dished out huge praise to Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry vs. Magic Johnson was the debate of the summer. Right after Steph claimed that he was the greatest point guard ever, several pundits, enthusiasts, and past legends of the game decided to weigh in on the conversation.

Shaquille O’Neal agrees with Stephen Curry saying he is the greatest PG ever pic.twitter.com/w32Ya5QSBu

— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) August 21, 2023

Shaquille O’Neal, who has been adoring Chef Curry for quite a few years now, made his pick. Additionally, judging from his social media activities, the Lakers legend picked the sharpshooter over Magic.