Shaquille O’Neal Sends Magic Johnson And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Strongly Worded Message On Their Standing In Lakers History

Shaquille O’Neal thinks highly of himself and has never been shy of saying it out loud either. And this time, he’s drawing a bold line in Los Angeles Lakers history.

Shaq, while revisiting his iconic partnership with the late Kobe Bryant on The Pivot Podcast, compared it to past duos, even the legendary Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And, needless to say, he wasn’t modest while talking about where he and Kobe stood in Lakers history.

O’Neal and Bryant, however, had a complicated relationship. Their chemistry on the court was electric, but it started to collapse when Kobe thought it was time to be the lead star. Behind the scenes, tension often ran high. Still, despite their disagreements, the two led the Lakers to a historic three-peat in the early 2000s.

Their dominance was unmatched. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective, and, more importantly, unforgettable. Shaq reflected on that partnership with a mix of pride and pain. The regret of not reconnecting with Kobe before his tragic passing still weighs heavily on him.

While revisiting those memories, Shaq made one thing clear: He believes the two were the most dominant 1-2 punch not just in the league at the time, but also in Lakers history.

“We are the most dominant, enigmatic one-two punch ever created, never to be duplicated. Matter of fact, the number one Laker duo in history,” said O’Neal.

Shaq even doubled down, sending a direct message to Lakers legends Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar. “Write it down, send it to them [Magic and Abdul-Jabbar]. Text it to them. Fax it to them. Motherf***ing put it on a pigeon, fly it to them,” he said.

That’s how confident Shaq is about the legacy he built with Bryant. And his pride is not surprising at all. One can’t simply brush aside O’Neal’s claim, especially since Magic himself considers Kobe to be the greatest Laker of all time.

The topic was brought up while the big fella was speaking about his biggest regrets in life. After boasting about the greatness of his partnership with Kobe, O’Neal concluded by saying, “The fact that I couldn’t tell my sister and my brother, ‘I love you’, one last time, two last times, 10 last times, that kinda haunts me.”

Shaq urged people to reconnect with those who once meant a lot to them before it’s too late.