Veteran analyst Skip Bayless seconds Shaquille O’Neal’s take on LeBron James not being feared in the league, wasting no time citing Michael Jordan’s example.
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The GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan is the foundation for all NBA analysts and sports pundits debating on national television. Though the two legends played in different eras, their respective fans never fail to seize an opportunity to fight for the GOAT status.
The various topics of debate are championship rings, MVPs, scoring titles, and PPG. Over the years, one such topic has been MJ’s ability to instill fear in his opponents, something James lacks. We have always heard stories of how Jordan’s opponents being beat as soon as they entered the United Center.
In the past, NBA legends like Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Tracy McGrady have narrated being spellbound by the sheer presence of Black Jesus. MJ’s GOAT campaigners have often pointed out this being absent in LBJ’s case.
Recently, Shaq spoke about how James was respected but not feared, adding a rather Giannis Antetokounmpo had a fear factor. Fox Sports analyst was elated with Big Diesel’s comments, quickly drawing comparisons to the Bulls legend.
Skip Bayless addresses Shaquille O’Neal’s recent comments on LeBron James.
During a recent segment of his podcast, Shaq spoke about players not fearing going up against King James.
“LeBron is my guy, but nobody was ever scared of LeBron,” Shaq said. “So, if you’re not scared of a guy, you just have much more confidence. That’s a dangerous guy to play with. They respect him, but they don’t fear him, cause I can tell, I watched him playing against them, they not scared.”
Nevertheless, Diesel was quick to point out Giannis’ ability to instill fear in his opponents.
“They fear Giannis now,” said the Hall of Famer. “They fear Giannis cause they can see in his face when he coming down the damn lane full court. They can see, yo, this guy not playing.”
An avid critic of King James, Bayless was quick to react to Shaq’s comments, tweeting the following.
Love what Shaq said about LeBron: “Nobody was ever scared of him.” Exactly. EVERYBODY was scared of Jordan … nobody of nice-guy, can’t-close LeBron. Can’t wait to hear Shannon try to defend this on tomorrow’s Undisputed.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 15, 2022
Well, it seems to be a field day for Bayless, often accused of being a LeBron hater. The Undisputed analyst doesn’t leave a single opportunity to criticize James.
Also, have we forgotten about the Bad Boy Pistons or Gary Payton’s remarkable defense in the 1996 NBA Finals when we talk about MJ’s fear factor?
