Shaquille O’Neal was in China on Tuesday promoting an energy drink when he was asked to weigh in on one of basketball’s most popular debates — Michael Jordan or LeBron James?
When asked who would win in a game of 1-on-1 between Jordan and LeBron if both players were in their prime, Shaq didn’t need much time to think about his answer.
Mike,” he said, via the AFP. “I think you have to go with a young Jordan every time. It would be an interesting game. Young LeBron was more like Magic Johnson. He was sort of like Magic with Jordan’s abilities. He liked to pass, and he liked to get it up.
“But Mike was Mike. He was just special, like no one else. He always did things no one else could do, and things you couldn’t compare to anyone else. So he was special, and he’d win.”
But O’Neal, never one to leave an audience with a boring response, decided to toss in a curveball. The four-time NBA champion would take Julius Erving over both Jordan and LeBron.
“I’ve seen young Mike and young LeBron and I must say Dr. J is still my favorite player,” Shaq added. “A lot of people today don’t even mention his name but to me I still think he was the best. But these are questions that we’ll never know the answer to.”
We know one former player who would leave LeBron out of his all-time starting five and another who would neglect Jordan, but Dr. J as the greatest player of all-time? Leave it to Shaq to come up with a very unique opinion.
