LeBron James’ career can have multiple books and biographies and still, there would be space for more when it’s all said and done. The 19x All-Star of the Los Angeles Lakers is now injured and there is a chance that he would miss the rest of the season. But Shaquille O’Neal wants his former team to stay competitive because it could the stage for a typical heroic story.
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Although the Warriors look more likely to do the massive tournament, the Purple and Gold team, if they just make it to the play-in spot and James makes a return on time, would still be one of the favorites to beat all the odds and win it all.
Shaq thinks they could become the first NBA team to win a championship coming through the play-in tournament.
Shaquille O’Neal contemplates a beautiful story for LeBron James’ return
It’s too unreal to actually happen for a team to first come off the unpredictable play-in tournament, then play teams like the Warriors, Mavericks, or Pelicans who have the firepower to beat the teams such as the Kings, Suns, Grizzlies, or Nuggets.
Any PnC with those teams coming to see them in the Playoffs would be next to impossible for the LA team and then if they beat these teams, Bucks, Celtics, or any other team from the East that has beaten those two would be waiting for the Lakers in the Finals.
This might be why O’Neal thinks it’s going to be a book-worthy story.
“We like going for the impossible story. Imagine the story. We’re out. The team plays well. We get to the playoffs, play in game, I’m healthy,” Shaq said speaking about LeBron on the recent drop of the Big Podcast With Shaq.
“And I had three weeks off, massages and everything. We win the playoff game and now we’re in the first round. Somebody on the other team gets hurt. Will we make it out of the first round? We go to the second round. Imagine if that man made it to the championship and won. That’s a hell of a book right there.”
If it could really happen
With a healthy starting five of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley with Dennis Schroder as the 6th man leading a decent bench, there are only a couple of teams who could claim they’d beat that team in a 7-game series.
And only one of them is in the West, the Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns. If James and company make it through the Play-ins and avoid them until the West Finals, they would have games together to win it all. It still might sound impossible to some, but if someone could pull it off, it is The King.
