Shaquille O’Neal placates Lakers fans who’re criticizing Jeanie Buss: “I respect people’s opinions, I’d never disrespect the Buss family”

Jeanie Buss may have left Shaquille O’Neal off her list of Top 5 Lakers of all time. But all the big man cares about is his statue outside Staples.

Jeanie Buss was a surprise guest on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’ ‘All the Smoke’ podcast recently. The Lakers’ owner proved to be an informative, good-humored podcast guest ready to engage in banter and keep it real.

She also put the cat amongst the pigeons with some of her takes while responding to the veterans’ questions. One of Jeanie’s most contentious answers was regarding her ranking of the top 5 most important people in Lakers history.

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Buss picked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson as her top 3, which is fair given how they were retired in LA. Perhaps that was the thing on her mind as she put LeBron James at #4 and Phil Jackson at #5 on her list.

Now, this is a list that has ticked off tons of sub-factions with Lakers fans. There are Shaq truthers, who opine that he’s arguably a top-2 player in Lakers history.

There are the old heads, who will lament about how Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor find no mention. Jerry West, in particular, seems to be a glaring omission. There also are those who will point to how LeBron’s Lakers resume is far from bulletproof.

Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t care where Jeanie Buss ranks him

Shaq appears totally unfazed by Jeanie’s podcast answer, as he detailed on his own podcast today. The 49-year-old has often been perceived as a bitter old head who can’t stand modern NBA players and talks them down. But he showed that he’s far from the killjoy and bully that many people perceive him as:

“Look, she’s Jeanie Buss and she’s got her opinion. You ask other people, the names will vary. At 49, I’m a lot more peaceful than I was. If I was 29, I’d say, ‘Hold on, LeBron’s only been there 720 days. How you gonna put him before me?’ But look, I’m 49. I respect people’s opinions.”

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““I don’t wanna have a fight about this. I’m glad my name is mentioned, period. I’m glad my statue is in front of Staples Center. I’m glad my jersey is hanging over there. That’s her opinion. I love it.”