Baron Davis Justifies His Desire To Have Wanted To Play Alongside Shaquille O’Neal

On Scoop B, reporter Brandon Robinson asked NBA icon Baron Davis to name one player he wished he could have played with. Reflecting on his career, the 45-year-old mentioned Shaquille O’Neal. He later even provided compelling reasons for his choice.

Davis, who spent 13 years in the league as a point guard, believed that having a dominant big man could have taken his game to the next level. Given that Shaq terrorized opponents throughout much of his career, he became the obvious choice in this regard.

“Everybody wants to play with Shaq. Shaq is a cheat code… For a point guard, you always want to play with a dominant big man because that’s where you’re stable, especially in my era… Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most dominant centers ever so that would be for me it would be kind of making my job easy.”

Shaq’s journey in the NBA substantiates Davis‘ perspective. For context, O’Neal enjoyed his best years playing alongside talented guards who could draw defenders in. His former teammates, Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, did just that. Their offensive prowess helped ‘The Diesel’ to dominate under the rim.

Shaq made the most of these opportunities. He led the league in scoring twice and topped the field goal percentage chart ten times. The 4x champion eventually retired with an impressive career average of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

This could have undoubtedly helped Davis shine. Although he never matched the numbers of Branyt, Wade or even Hardaway, the 2x All-Star was one of the leading names in his position during the 2000s. To put things in perspective, he averaged over 17 points per game in eight out of his thirteen seasons in the NBA.

Having Shaq by his side could have certainly helped Davis maintain his form longer and make a run for a championship. However, teaming up with the big man would have also brought complications.

Shaq once threatened Davis

Davis once tried to showcase his dunking skills against Shaq during a game at UCLA. But it backfired. Instead of impressing him, it fired up ‘The Diesel’ and even prompted him to threaten the former Warriors guard. Davis reflected on this incident on Gil’s Arena, saying,

“I tried to dunk on Shaq. He said ‘Bro, if you ever do that again, I’m gonna break your f**king legs’. At UCLA, I was like ‘Alright, cool, bro’. I thought I had a chance, I missed. That sh*t bounced off the rim… If he swing and miss and accidentally hit me, dog, I’m out.”

This pointed to the challenges that came with having Shaq as a teammate. Each of his former sidekicks had to manage his tantrums and often thought twice before crossing him. Davis would have found himself in the same position, even during his prime years.