“Nothing left to prove.” That’s a major milestone, in any career, sport or pretty much any other aspect of life. It says you’ve done it all; put in the work, won the championships, gotten to the top of the corporate (or sports) ladder.
One man who’s had his oversized share of career success is certainly our man, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. In a recent social media post, Shaq named a small handful of other NBA greats he thinks have “nothing left to prove.” It’s an interesting list, for sure.
Thanks to our friends at FadeAwayWorld.com for the heads-up on this story. In his post, Shaq pointed to these current NBA stars: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard, and Giannis Antentokounmpo.. Saying they’re the only ones currently in the Association with – as he put it – nothing left to prove in the NBA.
As someone who himself has won four Championships through 19 all-star seasons, O’Neal certainly has a right to a strong opinion on this subject.
As for the players, let’s take a closer look:
King James has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA, and is often has his name mentioned in GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversations. He’s won four NBA Championships in a career that’s gone to (and from) Cleveland, to Miami and the the Los Angles Lakers.
Sidenote: Interestingly O’Neal had played with James when the latter was a rookie and had only a few years into the league.
Steph Curry: Regarded as the greatest shooter ever to play the game, Curry is pretty much single-handedly changing the game of basketball. A 3x NBA champion and the first-ever unanimous MVP in the league history, Curry is probably the most influential player of the last decade.
Shooting isn’t everything. One player that’s shown his talents in both offense and defense is Kawhi Leonard. A two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, Kawhi can play on both ends of the floor. One of his Defensive Player of the Year awards came when he helped the Toronto Raptors win their first NBA championship.
Then there’s the man they call the “Greek Freak.” Giannis Antentokounmpo brought the city of Milwaukee their first NBA championship in over 5 decades. The superstar averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 1.8 BPG during the Finals. His 50-point performance in Game 6 will go down as one of the greatest Finals performances ever.
Yet Giannis is only 26 years old (as of this writing). Still, he’s been a two-time MVP, Finals MVP, DPOY, and NBA champion. This is one player that – even though Shaq says he’s got nothing left to prove – still has a good chunk of career ahead of him. Can’t wait to see what he does in seasons to come.
What do you think? Seems like Shaq’s quick take is right on target. His new list shows off players that have definitely established themselves as big-time winners, as well as players that have done so much to bring up other players around them.