Taking to “the Gram” recently, our man Shaq posted an idea for what would be a great fantasy game. The matchup features stars from various eras of Shaq’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers (and some non-Lakers, too), playing a lineup centered around Michael Jordan and other big-name legends.
Here’s the interesting part: O’Neal came right out and said his team might struggle – or even lose a series – against the MJ-led squad. Quite the admission from a guy who’s normally pretty confident in his skills and his superstar teammates.
So, what are the team rosters? For Shaq’s team, the lineup is O’Neal (of course!), along with Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Karl Malone.
For Jordan’s team, there’s MJ himself, along with Derrick Rose, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. Nice move, including fellow TNT “Inside the NBA” friend and commentator Sir Charles on the opposition!
Rose is certainly an interesting pick. Of all the players on Shaq’s two fantasy lineups, he might be the lowest-ranked of the bunch. Not that he wasn’t a highly skilled player… but that he suffered several major knee injuries that limited his prime playing years. Rose is actually still in the Association…he signed a short-term deal with the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason.
What about a series between the two lineups? On his IG account, O’Neal said he believes any playoff-style series would definitely go seven games. All we know is that it would be amazing to see arguably the two main GOAT’s of the game – James and Jordan – go at it against each other.
On Shaq’s team, there’s going to be some teammate-based chemistry. O’Neal, Bryant and Malone all played together with the Lakers in the 2003-04 season, although by that time, Malone was at the end of his career.
Of course Bryant and O’Neal won three titles during their time together with the Lakers, and they are arguably one of the greatest duos in NBA history. How would adding Steph to the mix help that team? Hard to say…
As for the other squad, there’s plenty of talent, too. It’s just a little more spread out over time and distance. On different lineups, Erving, Jordan and Olajuwon all led their teams to championships during their careers. Sir Charles was a dominant player for several seasons playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.
Of course we’ll never know what would have happened IRL with such a pair of powerhouse lineups facing each other, but it’s always fun to speculate. Someday, when we invent that NBA Time Machine…