Shaq is on a roll this summer. Just a few weeks after saying all-time Lakers greats would beat all-time Bulls greats which led to an Instagram battle between Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O’Neal, Shaq decides to take another less subtle strike at questioning Michael Jordan’s greatness.
Michael Jordan answered a question at his camp regarding who would win between him and Lebron James, and of course Jordan picked himself adding “no question” at the end. Lebron James later responded that he thinks he could beat Michael Jordan, as what any competitor would say. Shaq was asked the same question when he visted Hong Kong.
“It would be an interesting game. Young LeBron was more like (Lakers Hall of Famer) Magic Johnson. He was sort of like Magic with Jordan’s abilities. He liked to pass, and he liked to get it up. But Mike was Mike. He was just special, like no one else. He always did things no one else could do, and things you couldn’t compare to anyone else. So he was special, and he’d win.” – Shaquille O’Neal
However, Shaq didn’t end there. In order for this to be an article about Shaq, you know he’s bound to say something controversial in terms of NBA history.
“I’ve seen young Mike and young LeBron and I must say Dr. J is still my favorite player. A lot of people today don’t even mention his name but to me I still think he was the best.” Shaquille O’Neal
To brush up on our memory, it’s probably best to compare both players career but claiming who’s the best. Michael Jordan averaged 30.1 points per game with 6.2 rebounds per game and 5.3 assists per game in his 13 season career. Erving averaged 24.2 points per game with 8.5 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game in his 11 season career. Albeit, both players played in different eras which required different skill-sets to win. Michael Jordan finished his career with six rings, six finals MVPs, and 5 regular season MVPs. Erving finished with two ABA rings, one NBA ring, two time ABA playoff MVP, three time ABA MVP, and one NBA MVP.
Nobody can be mad at that. After all, Michael Jordan said he patterned his game after the legendary Dr J. However, leave it to Shaq to take shots at Michael Jordan’s legacy, he’s tried already once this summer. This wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. ‘Mike was Mike’ in the words of O’Neal, but Shaq will be Shaq in the eyes of the NBA fan base.
