“Join Stephen Curry and the Warriors, LeBron James!”: When Shaquille O’Neal Had Stephen A Smith’s Veins Bursting Live on Air

It may be sad to watch happen, but LeBron James has clearly started to decline. The rest of the Lakers’ squad can’t be blamed anymore. After all this time, all the fingers are pointing at him. And he has nothing to shield himself with.

Of course, the King isn’t in it for the rings anymore. Or at the very least, the motivation to get yet another one isn’t quite the same as it used to be.

But what if he was a part of a team that could’ve carried him to a championship?

Well, at the tail end of James’s second stint with the Cavaliers, Shaquille O’Neal made a pretty bold claim about the man’s potential future.

And let’s just say ‘controversial’ wouldn’t begin to define it.

Also Read: 6ft 6″ Kobe Bryant Once Revealed How ‘The Redeem Team’ Enabled Him to Play His Favorite Part of Basketball

 

Shaquille O’Neal claimed LeBron James should join up with Stephen Curry and the superteam Warriors

The Golden State Warriors were the most frightening team in the NBA for about 3 years after their finals loss in 2016. And the main reason for that, along with all the firepower they already had, was Kevin Durant.

But what if they had LeBron James too?

Speaking on the matter in 2018, here is how Shaq riled Stephen A Smith to the point, that the analyst almost burst a vein.

Frankly, purely from the perspective of winning championships, this wouldn’t be a bad move at all.

But, while this would be a good decision for LeBron James, it could have potentially been far, far better for the Warriors than anyone could ever expect.

Could LeBron James have stopped the Golden State Warriors’ crisis of 2019?

The 2019 NBA Finals don’t bring back the happiest memories for any Warriors fan on the planet.

Key role players kept dealing with niggling injuries, and the team didn’t even have Kevin Durant for a lot of the playoff run. But then, of course, things got far, far worse in the Finals.

First Kevin Durant came back early from his injury, before tearing his Achilles. Then just as the Warriors started to recover in a pivotal Game 6, Klay Thompson went down with an ACL injury.

Stephen Curry was left all alone, and the Warriors were forced to bow out by the Raptors.

However, could that have changed with LeBron James?

The pressure for Kevin Durant to get back to the court would be a lot lower, and heck, the man may even have wanted to stay with the King there. And by the same logic, perhaps the unfortunate incident with Klay Thompson wouldn’t have happened.

And even if it did, Stephen Curry wouldn’t be forced to do it all by himself.

Quite simply, this move could have prevented the Warriors dynasty from losing a whopping 2 years during their championship window.

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