Shaq said that he would have joined the Chicago Bulls if he knew it was okay to join super teams in the ’90s. A sly dig on KD? We think so!
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On July 4, 2016, the Warriors welcomed one of the most dramatic free-agent acquisitions in NBA history.
Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder following an eight-year tenure with the team. As a result, the rest of the NBA was disappointed by Durant’s decision to join the Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors were seen as an invincible juggernaut after decimating the LeBron James-led Cavaliers in consecutive finals. KD won two championships and two Finals MVP honors during his three seasons with Golden State.
Durant suffered an Achilles tendon injury in his third NBA Finals appearance with the Warriors. Kevin became a free agent following Golden State’s defeat in the finals. In the 2019 offseason, the 11-time All-Star chose to join the Brooklyn Nets.
Shaq says if he had switched teams like Kevin Durant, he would have joined the Bulls
Shaquille O’Neal was unhappy with Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
Many NBA players and experts were concerned about the decision. Durant made the Warriors appear invincible. They had suddenly become far too good for the rest of the league.
Shaq appeared on the podcast “The Big Dye Lie” and discussed Durant’s move to the Warriors in 2016.
“When he was in OKC, he was the bus driver, and everyone was on him, and he couldn’t close,” O’Neal explained. “And people were extremely curious, like you can’t close and then you want to join the team that beat you, and he didn’t understand why everyone was furious about that. So it’s meant to be about rivalry. If I had known it was okay to join people, I would have joined the Bulls.”
Talk about a super team that would have dominated the league in the late 1990s and maybe even further. Had Shaq joined the Bulls, the rest of the NBA would have been doomed? Share your views in the comments below!
