“You Were Not F***ing with Shaq”: Shaquille O’Neal Uses Richard Jefferson to Remind Draymond Green of His Dominance

Back in 2002, Shaquille O’Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers were at the height of their powers. Their Shaq-led offense (also armed with a young Kobe Bryant) was steamrolling through teams during the early 2000s, which would eventually lead the team to a three-peat. As years have passed, some modern players, like Draymond Green, have addressed the almost mythical stories regarding the Herculean task of guarding a prime Shaq.

In fact, Draymond Green has shown faith in his defensive abilities, claiming that he would be equipped to guard the Big Diesel if he had faced him in his NBA career. But the self-proclaimed greatest NBA defender’s former teammate, Richard Jefferson, would soon appear on JJ Reddick’s podcast to clear the air about Shaq’s dominance. Shaq, who is an active Instagram user, recently shared Jefferson’s address to Green about his exploits on the court on his Instagram.

Having played against Shaq in 2002 as a rookie, Jefferson knows a thing or two about Shaq’s dominance. Talking about the same on ‘The Old Man and Three’ Podcast, Jefferson once said,

“There’s no f**king guarding him….and Draymond, you’re my boy…I love your defense…The way he[ Draymond Green] has played defense has changed the game…but in ’02, you were not f**king with Shaq, bro. They changed how you had to construct your roster. You had to have two or three bigs just for f*king fouls. Not like good bigs, we just need bigs there, we need big bodies.”

“Shaq, physically, was the most dominant we have ever seen, maybe we’ll ever see, because of his sheer athleticism, size, footwork, hands, everything. There was no guarding him,” RJ added.

Even though what Jefferson said might sound like hyperbole, it is completely true. Shaq put up insane numbers during his three-peat stint with the Lakers, as he averaged over 35.9 PPG, 15.2 RPG, 3.5 APG and 2.9 BPG in his three finals appearances from 2000 to 2002.

During an episode of his podcast in 2022, Draymond Green claimed that he can easily guard Shaq. Green was responding to comments implying that modern players are lucky that they do not have to guard Shaq. However, players like RJ, who had actually seen the horrors of Shaq’s game in front of their eyes, couldn’t let Green’s confident answer slide.

What made Shaq different from other centers around the league was his sheer strength and size. O’Neal was so powerful that he bought down an entire basketball rim as a rookie with the Orlando Magic. Apart from his size, the big man was remarkably quick in his feet and had a sharp brain, all of which combined made him unstoppable.

Shaq addresses matchup with Golden State

In the last two decades, there have been numerous Championship teams that have come and gone. But out of the lot, two teams stand head and shoulders over the rest. The Kevin Durant and Steph Curry-led Warriors and the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. The two teams were so dominant in their time, that only injuries and inner turmoil could have derailed their run.

During an American Express Conference, Shaq was asked an interesting question, which pitted his 2002 Lakers against the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors. Talking about the matchup, Shaquille O’Neal said,

“I would instruct Derrick and Kobe to make the guys drive. And instead of focusing on scoring, I would focus on touching those guys up….and if I get the ball and turn around and Draymond Green is guarding me…that’s Barbeque Chicken Dinner.”

This strategy of Shaq might have worked out well, as no one on the Warriors had the size or strength to stop O’Neal in the post. Not only defensively, but even offensively, Shaq would prove to be too much for Golden State, as the likes of Draymond Green would most probably ‘foul out’ in an attempt to guard Shaq.