The 2001 Los Angeles Lakers and 2017 Golden State Warriors are two of the most dominant teams in NBA history. They displayed great things during their championship runs, leaving no doubt they were the most powerful team on the court during every series.
These two squads are often pitted against each other, getting different opinions from fans and analysts. The last name to join that list was Richard Jefferson, who played against both teams. Jefferson knows how difficult it was to take them down.
During a recent edition of “Road Trippin,'” the sharpshooter sided with the Lakers, pointing out that Shaquille O’Neal would have been too much to bear for the Warriors.
“The second-best team I ever played against truly played against or faced was the 17 Warriors. Steph, Klay, KD, Draymond that team there was no there was no formula for that. I don’t care, you almost needed like a USA Basketball team today simple to beat them. That’s not not an exaggeration.”
“But the best team was the 2001 Lakers…. I know Steph gets all the credit for changing the game but why Shaq was different. Shaq forced you to carry three extra big or two extra big men on your roster.”
2001 Lakers > 2017 Warriors IMO🤷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/Eto2Vzzh4Q
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) August 29, 2021
RJ doesn’t think the Warriors would have stood a chance against the Big Diesel even with a great defender and competitor like Draymond Green.
“You were going to have to keep a big man and multiple big men on the floor. Because Shaquille O’Neal, as much as I love Draymond, Draymond was not doing anything against prime Shaq.”
Shaq was a force of nature during his best days. He led the Lakers to three straight championships alongside Kobe Bryant in an impressive three-year run. The big man had no competition in the paint, and the Lakers took a big advantage from that.
That seems to be the biggest factor for that Lakers squad to take the W against the memorable 2017 Warriors.
