LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal are undoubtedly two of the greatest players in NBA history. In their primes, both men were absolute buckets, leading teams to championship success. However, when the two were teamed together, they found little to no success. Despite that, they also had some wholesome moments together even when they parted ways. Shaq just shared one such incident with his 30 million followers!
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Shaq teamed up with The King on the Cleveland Cavaliers back in the 2009-2010 season. And, while a lot was expected of them, all they could muster was an Eastern Conference Semi-Finals exit.
That being said, there was no love lost between the two. Three seasons later, after Big Diesel had hung up his sneakers, he was watching James play against the Pacers. After a big play, LeBron was sent crashing into the crowd, but the big fella was there to save him from a potential injury. And, recently he reminded fans about his heroics, sharing the video from Basketball Reach on his Instagram.
Shaquille O’Neal shares a video of how he once heroically saved LeBron James from an injury
During the 2013 Playoffs, LeBron James led the Miami Heat to an NBA Championship. But, prior to the NBA Finals, the Heat had to get through the Indiana Pacers. And, one particular play in Game 6 could have ended King James’ Playoff run.
In the aforementioned play, Mario Chalmers went up for an easy layup but missed completely. With the ball in the air, both teams scrambled for the rebound but ended up nearly sending it out of bounds. LeBron being the dedicated superstar that he is, showed some hustle and dramatically tried to throw it back in.
Unfortunately, the ball went straight into the Pacers’ hands. But, what of LeBron? He was sent hurtling into the stands, and he could have suffered an injury. Luckily for him, his former teammate Shaquille O’Neal was there to save him. It was quite a heroic feat, and Shaq reminded everyone of it with his latest Instagram story.
“When Shaq Saved The King!”
Wish we could have seen more of Shaq x LeBron in Cleveland pic.twitter.com/LfPXx88h0s
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) May 15, 2023
View this post on Instagram
It certainly would have been great to see this level of comradery for more than the year we got in Cleveland. But, to hear Shaq describe his former teammate as someone nobody fears is startling.
Shaquille O’Neal claims no one fears LeBron as a player
They may have spent just about a year in Cleveland together, but Shaquille O’Neal gained a lot of respect for LeBron James during that time. But, when he was recently asked to describe The King as a player, his answer was shocking.
He claimed that players respected LeBron, but they did not fear him. Making him a much easier person to play against, as compared to a Giannis Antetokounmpo or a Michael Jordan.
An interesting take from Shaq. But, one that many may not agree with. After all, you cannot be named in the same vein as Michael Jordan and not be feared.
