When Shaquille O’Neal was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he got to meet a young LeBron James firsthand. He was supposed to be a veteran mentor to the budding star. But upon meeting him, O’Neal was impressed with how mature LeBron already was. It’s something he discussed at great length in his book, Shaq Uncut.
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Shaq was on the last legs of his career when he got to Cleveland. He was traded for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a future second-round pick at the time. And he paid dividends, averaging 12 points and seven rebounds in just 23 minutes a night off the bench.
But when the move for O’Neal was made, the Cavs envisioned him mentoring a young LeBron. Yet, he talked extensively in his book about how LeBron was already years ahead of his age mentally when he met him. Keep in mind that the book was published in 2011, so some things may sound a bit outdated.
“You get around LeBron, and you realize he’s everything he appears to be. He’s a strong kid with a ton of confidence who works his ass off. He doesn’t quite have Kobe’s range yet, but I bet he will. He’s not going to stop until he wins multiple rings,” Shaq wrote.
When we look back on the excerpt, it’s not surprising that we’ve seen LeBron turn into the player he is today. He now has four rings in ten tries.
“He’s also a great team player. I give him the edge over Kobe on that,” the 1999 MVP wrote.“He’s going to do what it takes to win, knowing that he can take over the game whenever he wants, but understanding you’ve got to keep your teammates involved. LeBron takes losses a little differently than most superstars I’ve been around. He’s not the kind to blow up after a bad game. He’s not going to be in your face, spitting at you. I heard him say more than once, ‘There’s eighty-two games in a season. Let’s be real with ourselves.’ He got it. At a very young age, he was already acting like a veteran.”
After every NBA Finals loss, or any loss for that matter, LeBron never blew up at the media. He is known as a very humble and respectful player, just like O’Neal outlined.
Shaquille O’Neal & LeBron James Together
The 2009-10 Cavs were quite an interesting squad. They ended up winning 61 games en route to the first seed in the Eastern Conference. It looked like LeBron’s first legitimate chance to make a title run. But it was cut short by a veteran Boston Celtics squad, which went on to lose the Finals to the Lakers in seven games.
However, the league was made well aware of LeBron’s greatness that year, as he won the MVP, averaging almost 30 points and nine assists a game while playing stellar defense.
In the following year, Shaquille O’Neal moved on to the team they lost to in the playoffs, the Celtics. It was his last ride as an NBA player, capping off a legendary 19-year career. Furthermore, he played his last NBA game in the playoffs against LeBron. Only this time, James was knocking out the Celtics in a Heat uniform.
