Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant‘s story in the NBA is accented by a tragic overtone of beef during not just their peak together, but for most of their time in the NBA. However, what is often forgotten is that, even during that time, the two were known to greatly respect each other. In fact, even if their public fight reached its peak in 2004, O’Neal was openly announcing that Bryant was the best player in the history of the NBA. As Chris Broussard recently revealed, he even contested Shaq’s opinion, bringing up Michael Jordan instead. At this, he allegedly did nothing but scoff.
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In many ways, Shaq and Kobe fought for the same reason they were both so great during their NBA career. They were alphas that were beyond stubborn, and wanted to win, no matter what. Unfortunately for both of them, that extended to the argument of who was the one with the keys to the franchise, of the two of them. After O’Neal left the Lakers for the Heat, this argument only raged on until both of them retired from the NBA. However, both individuals seemed to soften as time passed. In the end, to bury the hatchet, the two sat down for a now-famous interview together. Take a look at the YouTube clip by ‘NBA Stats All Seasons’
Shaquille O’Neal chooses his all-time top-11 players in NBA history, Chris Broussard reacts
While those in the NBA community are often open about who their GOAT is, not many have been able to solidify who their top 10 players in NBA history are. Stepping aside from the crowd, Shaq recently announced his all-time starting five. He even announced his all-time bench that included 6 players, bringing his tally to 11. Take a look at the list, as well as Chris Broussard’s reaction in the tweet by First Things First below.
“Back in 2004 is when Shaq was saying Kobe was the best player ever. I asked him, ‘What about Jordan?’ He said, ‘What about him?'”
— @Chris_Broussard on Shaq’s all-time Top 11: pic.twitter.com/WPHnje56YT
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) August 2, 2023
“Back in 2004, Shaq was saying Kobe was the best player ever. I asked him, ‘What about Jordan?’ He said, ‘What about him?'”
The Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons, with a series tally of 1-4. Nevertheless, it was the first time the world at large started to realize what Kobe could become. Having the best seats in the house to witness it, it is no surprise that Shaq noticed what was going on. However, to publicly announce that he is the best to ever do it, despite their very public beef is astounding.
On that day in 2004, O’Neal wasn’t the bigger man in just the physical sense anymore.
Shaq wishes to team up with Stephen Curry
Shaquille O’Neal may have included Stephen Curry in his all-time dream team, however, he is still just the backup point guard. With Magic Johnson being the starting player in that position, it’d be easy to think that the big man would’ve wanted to team up with him the most. But apparently, that isn’t the case at all.
In an Instagram post, Shaq revealed that the one player he’d have loved to form a duo with is Stephen Curry. In the process, he snubbed the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and Tim Duncan, players that were provided as options in his post. And as mentioned earlier, he wasn’t thinking about shoehorning in Magic Johnson either. Read all the details here.
