“Couldn’t Nobody Do Nothing with Shaquille O’Neal!”: Allen Iverson Recalls Guarding 3x Lakers Champion, Crowns Him ‘Best Big Man Ever’

Allen Iverson is one of the most accomplished NBA legends ever to never win a ring. The former Philadelphia 76ers star came the closest to an NBA Championship in the 2001 NBA Finals. However, the Shaquille O’Neal-led Los Angeles Lakers proved to be an impossible hurdle to overcome for the ‘Crossover King’. The 48-year-old recently dubbed the Lakers legend the greatest big man ever and recalled how daunting a task it was to contain a prime Shaq.

Shaquille O’Neal, alongside Kobe Bryant, led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA Championships in the early 2000s. The LA side faced a tough challenge against the Iverson-led Philly side in the 2001 Finals. Just coming off of an MVP season, Iverson scored a playoff-high 48 points in Game 1 to give the Sixers a 1-0 lead. However, Shaq and Co. steamrolled the Eastern Conference side in the next few games to secure their second Championship in a row.

Allen Iverson talks about the nightmare that was guarding Shaquille O’Neal

About two months ago, Home Team Hoops shared the clip of an intriguing conversation on YouTube, where Allen Iverson was seen opening up about the daunting task of trying to guard a prime Shaquille O’Neal. Iverson boldly claimed that Shaq was the best big man ever and everybody at the table should have the same opinion because they have seen the Diesel play with their own eyes.

Iverson told others at the table:

“Everybody in here supposed to say Shaq [is the greatest big man ever]…When we played them, we could have got them [in the 2001 Finals], but we ran into Shaquille O’Neal in his prime…Could nobody do nothing with Shaq. Nothing! It wasn’t even close.”

Shaq had shared the interaction on his radio channel, Shaq Fu Radio as well. During the conversation, Iverson further delved into the big fella’s dominance. The 11-time All-Star claimed that the biggest compliment he received in his life was being called ‘little Shaq’, which meant that he was a little guy dominating the hardwood like Shaq.

 

AI climbed on Shaq’s back to foul him

Towards the end of the interaction, AI talked about how he tried to foul Shaq once during a regular season game. Their massive size difference prompted Iverson to climb on the Diesel’s back to contain him. But the 2001 MVP soon discovered that such extreme tactics weren’t effective as well to stop the freight train that was prime O’Neal, as the Lakers star easily drove to the basket.

Kobe Bryant watched the whole thing and was shocked with Iverson’s tenacity. “Are you trying to die!” the Mamba was genuinely worried about the stunt that the 6 ft guard had pulled on his then teammate.

However, Iverson and Shaq have always shared a deep sense of respect for each other’s game. Earlier this year, AI shared a post on Instagram dubbing Shaq as the only reason he doesn’t have a ring. Shaq commented on the post, paying his respects to one of the greatest NBA stars ever.