The journey of iconic duos in the NBA has paved the way for unforgettable instances. Reminiscing about some of those moments, Shaquille O’Neal recently revealed his choice for the greatest duo ever, while displaying a preference for a certain Los Angeles Lakers pair. The 52-year-old even went as far as to back them over the legendary Chicago Bulls partnership of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
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Shaq recently uploaded an image on Instagram containing a total of four iconic NBA duos to establish his viewpoint. Apart from MJ and Pippen, it consisted of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and lastly, Diesel himself and Kobe Bryant. Despite the difficulty of choosing one over the other, O’Neal openly backed himself and the Black Mamba.
“Even with all these legends me and my guy Kobe Bryant is still and will always be the most dominant one-two punch ever. Yes, I said it and I stand on it G14-classified. No disrespect just how I feel. Thank you have a great day may god continue to bless you all,” the Big Aristotle wrote in the caption to elaborate on his standpoint.
The achievements of each of these duos add a layer of differentiation from each other. While Jordan and Pippen served as the benchmark for the ideal NBA duo, the combination of Curry and Durant almost reached a similar level of dominance during their time together. Simultaneously, James and Irving have also stayed in the folklore as a one-of-a-kind partnership for rising against all odds.
Yet, none of them carried the flamboyance of Shaq and Kobe from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. From winning a three-peat to rivaling each other, on and off the court, despite being teammates, the duo had it all. Hence, their time spent together stayed closer to Diesel’s heart as he refused to indicate any disrespect with his statement.
Shaquille O’Neal had previously also backed his partnership with Kobe Bryant
During a promotional video for the 2k24 last year, the 4x champion displayed a similar stance, stating, “Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal is the most dominant duo in 2K, on the internet, off the internet, outer space, amongst aliens, amongst earthlings. We are the most dominant one-two punch ever created”.
A few months before that, Shaq had re-established the pecking order in the minds of his followers with an Instagram post. He uploaded an image of Bryant and himself with the post declaring, “Greatest duo ever. Don’t ever forget it”. “YUP I SAID IT, we will demolish any duo u put up against us,” he further added in the caption to justify his actions.
Despite the apparent extremism, the claims contain a level of truth in them. Undoubtedly, the stance stays debatable. Yet, rejecting his bias outright will require an ample amount of fact from the opposers’ side. Until then, Shaq can certainly express his thoughts freely as he has already walked the talk.
