Shaquille O’ Neal and LeBron James are certainly two of the greatest NBA stars in the history. Years before LeBron James came to town, Los Angeles Lakers were led by Shaquille O’Neal, who, like James, was one of the sport’s greatest physical specimens ever.
He may have been the most dominant player ever during his peak in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, his peak was too short, and he started declining in his early 30s.
On the other hand, James is still playing at an elite level at age 38, and in February he became the NBA’s all-time leading career scorer.
James recently broke the NBA’s scoring record and O’Neal admitted during a recent episode of the “I Am Athlete” podcast that he felt jealous when James accomplished the feat and wished it was he who had surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career mark.
Shaquille O’Neal was jokingly called out by host Brandon Marshall for not giving an honest answer regarding his opinion of James. He responded by explaining the jealousy he felt towards James after he broke LA Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record earlier this season.
“I say it all the time. It was professional jealousy at that moment. I wish that was me. I know what I would have done. ‘Me, I’m the greatest,’” O’Neal said.“I know Bron. He’s very nice, very humble, corporate guy. So I’m proud of that. … But, I like hearing the (GOAT) conversations.”
The 2000 league MVP has a lot to be proud of as it is with four NBA championships, three straight NBA Finals MVPs and 28,596 points over his 19-year career. James still has a long way to go to match O’Neal’s accomplishments in a Lakers uniform.
