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Days After Claiming He’d Beat Michael Jordan’s Hypothetical Team, Shaquille O’Neal Agrees With Benching Kevin Durant For LeBron James

Nandjee Ranjan
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Days After Claiming He'd Beat Michael Jordan's Hypothetical Team, Shaquille O'Neal Agrees With Benching Kevin Durant For LeBron James

No player in the paint has ever felt safe with the ball in Shaquille O’Neal’s hands. In fact, even that statement fails to quite explain the dominance of the Lakers legend. Shaq dunked on everybody and anybody, even David Robinson, a monster on defense. The former Los Angeles Lakers star had the moves, agility, and physique that made him the Goliath of his generation. Michael Jordan might be the greatest, Kobe Bryant might be the most skilled, and LeBron James might be the most complete player, but none could ever do what Shaq did on the court. The Diesel was a feared big foot on the court with such unmatchable dominance that everybody looked like a child around him. 

Recently, the NBA legend posted a picture that had him, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Tim Duncan pitted against Team Jordan. Of course, the picture posed a hypothetical scenario, but O’Neal had his view ready. For the four-time NBA champion, it was going to be a gentleman’s sweep. In the caption, he wrote, “They Might Get 1 or 2 Games“. With that firepower in scoring and a facilitator like Bron, Big Diesel might be right.

Shaquille O’Neal Chooses To Bench Kevin Durant Over LeBron James

The video that was posted by Hoops had a fan choosing who to bench among the six players on the roster. The list had MJ, Kobe, KD, Curry, Shaq, and Bron. According to the fan, benching KD would be more reasonable because LeBron was a better choice to play at four. According to him, Prime Bron can defend and play better as a power forward. Take a look at tragicpatek’s tweet with the screenshot of Shaq’s story below. 

I am gonna play Bron at the four. I think KD can’t check a power forward better than LeBron at his peak. He is gonna rebound better and everything.”

While benching KD seems reasonable, his ability to score and defend should not be ignored. He can shoot the lights out at any given night, and he can defend better than Curry on the court. Yes, Curry is the greatest 3-point shooter in the history of basketball, but the roster already has too many scorers to score the ball.

Shaquille O’Neal Continues His Attack On Michael Jordan

In April 2023, Shaq posted a scenario with a big five on his side and another big five with MJ on their side. The scenario was similar to the one he posted a few weeks ago. Except, the roster had a bit of a change this time. With LeBron, Kobe, Curry, and Giannis on his side, O’Neal said it might be a sweep.

The other team had MJ, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi, KD, and Tim Duncan on the other side. Perhaps the former MVP is right. With such dominant players on his side and his ferocious presence, it could be a sweep.

About the author

Nandjee Ranjan

Nandjee Ranjan

Nandjee is an NBA writer currently working for Sportsrush. A LeBron James fan, he supports the Los Angeles Lakers and is a passionate basketball player. Sports has had an immense impact on his personal development since a very young age. He was a zonal level football player for three years, and his passion for sports has inspired him to write about it. He has a Master's in Political Science as well as Philosophy from Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, respectively. In his spare time, he loves to go on adventures and enjoys trekking.

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