“Ja Morant”: Encouraged by His Own Name on the List, Shaquille O’Neal Approves of Michael Jordan’s Teammate Naming the Best of Every Decade

Michael Jordan‘s former Bulls teammate, John Salley has been making several podcast appearances lately. One of the most noteworthy one among them was about 10 months ago when he appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s show, ‘Club Shay Shay‘. During his time there, Salley was asked to pick the best NBA player of every decade from the 60s, along with who would hold that position for the upcoming era. And while his answer about the current decade surprised many, Shaquille O’Neal seemed to agree with it, as he shared the interaction on his Instagram stories.

When it comes to the best players of every era, everyone has their own opinions. After all, every era has at least two or three players who have a legitimate argument to be the best. Of course, John Salley is no different. However, perhaps what sets him apart from the crowd is that he has no intention of hiding his opinions in any capacity, no matter how outlandish they may seem.

John Salley named the best in every decade, picking Shaquille O’Neal over Tim Duncan

Eras are often calculated by decades in the NBA (2000s, 2010s, and so on). With this concept in mind, Shannon Sharpe asked John Salley to name his pick for each decade. For the 1960s, Salley chose Oscar Robertson. For the 1970s, it was Jerry West, the 1980s had a clear favorite in Magic Johnson, and the 1990s were obviously reserved for Michael Jordan.

When it came to the 2000s, Shaquille O’Neal was among the list of candidates for the best of the decade. Hearing his name, Salley was almost left with no choice but to pick him, ahead of legends like Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant. He said the following.

“Shaq is the most dominant player I’ve ever seen. But, you got Dirk Nowitzki in there… I’mma go with Shaq!”

When asked for his answer on the 2010s for the same, Salley immediately named LeBron James.

Here, most viewers likely believed the line of questioning would stop. However, without missing a beat, Sharpe asked Salley which player would hold this position for the 2020s. The former Bulls’ response was offbeat, to say the least.

“Ja Morant!… Am I saying it ghetto enough?! Ja Morant!” 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Deion Duke (@sportsuniverse126)

Throughout this segment of the interview, Salley was in no mood to explain himself. He showed complete belief in his every pick and just continued to announce them, no matter how unpopular they may be.

Perhaps his status as a former NBA player allows him to see something most fans can’t. And Shaquille O’Neal seems to like his unapologetic stance, as he put the clip on his IG story.

Shaquille O’Neal shared John Salley’s list of best player from every decade pic.twitter.com/r8qP3hCa7o

— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) September 28, 2023

Echoing Salley’s take, Gilbert Arenas seemed rather convinced about Ja Morant too.

Gilbert Arenas has named Ja Morant as the next face of the NBA, after LeBron James

Many different former NBA stars seem to have quite a bit of belief in Ja Morant. Having been an exciting, explosive guard himself, during his time in the league, Arenas had a rather strong prediction for the Grizzlies star as well. He predicted that Morant would be the next face of the NBA.

“The only person who has the charisma, the style, is the one who’s getting in trouble. It’s Ja Morant… He might not be mentally ready.”

Gilbert Arenas thinks that Ja Morant could be the face of the NBA once LeBron James retires 🤔

(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/rnTR8wMxlb

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 31, 2023

Admittedly, Ja’s basketball ability can make these predictions of him come true. However, can he stay focused on basketball, instead of diving one controversy to another? That’s the real question.