With the 2019-20 NBA season officially over, the season of rumors, whispers, and debates has begun for the basketball community.
On Wednesday, Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal started his own heated discussion on Instagram, pitting two teams together and asking fans who would win between Team A (Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and Steph Curry) or Team B (LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kyrie Irving). Considering the names involved, it sparked some major attention online.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG5nMrNl_oa
Shaq genuinely asks the fans, citing that he was unable to come to a decision. In the comments, the majority went with Team B, noting how a combination of LeBron and Jordan would be too much for anyone to handle.
Still, there were some who had Team A, whether by the will of Kobe Bean Bryant or their superior perimeter shooting abilities.
So… who would take the victory in a best-of-seven series? That’s hard to say.
On one hand, Team A is comprised of three MVPs who also happen to be among the top 5 scorers to ever play the game. Who is stopping the scoring versatility of Durant, Kobe, and Stephen Curry? They can dominate the inside, outside, and pretty much everywhere in between.
On the other hand, Team B has both LeBron James and Michael Jordan, players who are hard enough to stop on their own. Together, it’s easy to think nobody could keep up. Kyrie, despite being the weakest link here, has the shooting and handles to give the team a little bit of everything on the offensive end as well.
In a series, one has to imagine Steph and Kyrie would be guarding each other. And, historically speaking, Curry and the Warriors have the upper hand with a 16-10 record against Irving all-time. Though it should be noted that neither are particularly good defenders.
LeBron would likely be guarding Durant which, in the past, has always been a bit of an issue for The King. KD’s long, slender frame has proven to be a difficult matchup for Bron, who has lost twice to the 10x All-Star and his Golden State squad in the Finals. We know Durant isn’t stopping LeBron, either, but the difference here is on the perimeter, a place where No. 23 is known to be a bit shaky.
The Kobe and Jordan matchup would be most intuiting of all, considering these players have a very similar style of play. Kobe ” borrowed” many moves from Mike and eventually mastered it himself over the years. There’s no telling who would get the upper-hand, but Jordan has always been known as a better defender, so we’ll give the edge to him.
Obviously, predicting the outcome of a matchup like this is never going to feel convincing but if I had to guess right now, it’d be Team B who would get the series victory.
What do you think? Would the power of LeBron and Jordan be too much to deal with, or are just not putting enough respect to the names of Durant, Kobe, and Steph? Let us know your thoughts…
