If you’re a regular reader of this here ShaqFu Radio blog – and we know you are – you know we do more than our fair share of those “top-number” lists. Top five this, top ten that. It’s just part of the game of sports…tracking the stats, the stars, etc. Well, our man Shaq is out with yet another of his famous “Top Something” lists, and this one might be just a bit controversial…
With the start of the regular NBA season now officially about three weeks away (yay!), and preseason, warmup action starting any minute now, it’s time to get serious. If you’re setting your calendar reminders, the regular season starts Tuesday, October 22nd, with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks tipping it off.
So…what’s O’Neal’s shiny new list? How about an all-time best starting five? Our thanks to Lakers Daily for the info on this story, BTW. The list is probably not too surprising for who it includes (think Shaq put himself on it?) and yet there’s a bit of a bigger surprise for who’s not on the list.
Yes, of course Shaq put himself on the list! (What were you thinking?!?) To put an end to the suspense, the starting five is these guys, in no particular order: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Julius Erving, Karl Malone and, as we said, Shaq himself. Note this is an “all time” starting five, not just a Lakers-centric list.
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Not on the list? Well, a lot of great players, of course, but one name that really stands out in its absence: LeBron James. Nowhere to be found on O’Neal’s starting five! What do you think? Major misfire, or – considering the all-Universe talent of the rest of the list – about spot-on?
O’Neal did actually get to see King James play, up close and personally. In the same uniforms for that matter. The two were actually teammates in the NBA for a short period of time. Shaq and LeBron were on the same bench in Cleveland with the Cavaliers during the 2009-10 campaign. That season ended with a loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs.
If LeBron had been included on the new list, he would have been the only superstar still currently playing in the Association. Maybe that had something to do with Shaq’s decision to not include him? No telling at this point. All the players on the list have long (long!) since retired from the game. The most recent-to-play name on the list is former O’Neal Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant. He called it quits on his pro career after the 2015-16 season, almost ten years ago.
Interestingly, O’Neal did play against several of the names on his list. Dating back to his time with the Orlando Magic – just when his career was getting started – Shaq played in a few games against MJ, including a few playoff appearances.
When O’Neal got to the Lakers, he met up with Moses Malone’s Utah Jazz in the playoffs in back-to-back years. First, the two teams met in the second round of the 1997 NBA Playoffs, and the Jazz won that series in five games. The Lakers and Jazz then met in the Western Conference Finals in the 1998 NBA Playoffs, and that matchup was even more one-sided, as O’Neal and Bryant were swept by Utah.
No doubt the players O’Neal put on his all-time starting lineup are all incredible talents. An argument could have been made to include James at one of the forward spots, rather than Erving or Malone. Still, no arguments with the talent levels of those two!
So, what do you think? Do you like Shaq’s new all-time best starting five – including himself, of course. Or would you have liked to see another name or two on the list? There’s certainly plenty of huge names that could have made the all-time list. But this is Shaq’s own creation, so we’ve got to give the big man his due.
LeBron still has some gas left in the tank. Will he and the Lakers have a better season? As overall fans of the game, we hope so. As LeBron fans (some here in the ShaqFu Radio blog office are from Cleveland), we’d like to see him have a little more glory before retirement time comes.