The playoffs in the NBA are moving right along. Things are pretty exciting out there. So is the off-court conversation. About some of the great teams of the past. This week, our man Shaq got into it. With one of the current stars of the association. Talking about his old Lakers team would stack up. Against one of today’s rosters.
About one of the greatest teams in the history of the NBA comma, there’s no doubt. Shaq’s Lakers of the early 2000s are right up there. Led by O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, the game against the Lakers was no doubt the one circled on everyone’s NBA schedule. How about today’s great teams? How would the early 2000s Lakers stack up against – for example – the Golden State Warriors of the late 2010’s? What a roster that was: floor leader Stephen Curry, along with Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Of course the debate is impossible to settle. The two teams were built for completely different times, playing conditions and strategies. With Shaq at peak levels of close-in domination, Kobe pretty much an unguardable perimeter threat and a ton of really nice role players… well, the jewelry speaks for itself.
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
Someday some AI reconstruction will probably put those two great teams on the (virtual) floor together at the same time. With all that amazing shooting talent from Curry, Durant and Thompson, it would be – to say the least – “interesting.”
Still, the time-travel issues did not stop the discussion from happening on a recent edition of Shaq’s “The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal.” Warriors great Draymond Green said he really like his Warriors chances against a Shaq and Kobe-led Lakers squad. Not surprisingly, Shaq was not impressed.
Check out the full podcast later for all the juicy details. Here’s a few quick hits… Shaq did find it quite amusing when Green suggested that Klay Thompson would be tasked with defending Bryant. (Check the big man’s expression on the podcast… priceless!) Still, Thompson (playing in his best years) was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. The Warriors would also mix it up against Kobe by sometimes sending Andre Iguodala into the Kobe-defense role as well.
As for stopping Shaq, that’s a seemingly different story. Big man KD? Please. O’Neal was similar in height, sure. But strength and power? C’mon, man. O’Neal would probably be in for quite the feast (as he usually was) near the rim.
How about the Lakers on defense? There would certainly be issues to overcome… especially trying to contain the constant movement of Curry and Thompson, along with Green directing traffic. Then there’s the great midrange scoring from Durant. That might have been an issue for Shaq.
Another quick note from the podcast (probably more about this in future ShaqFu Radio posts). O’Neal said he will continue to talk about how his former friend and teammate Kobe Bryant should be in the on-going GOAT conversation. Shaq mentioned that Kobe deserves to be in the GOAT-talk, right alongside the likes of LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
On the podcast, Shaq stopped short of saying Kobe was the greatest ever, but said all three players – Kobe, LeBron and MJ – should be up there for consideration, and let fans make their own choice.