The GOAT debate rages on endlessly as an undercurrent to all NBA discourse, it’s always popping up here and there with someone commenting on it. The longer LeBron James continues to play at an elite level, the more it grows, with many starting to dispute Michael Jordan’s title as the greatest ever. But for now, MJ remains the consensus GOAT for the majority, including Shaquille O’Neal.
However, there is a toxic element to the discussion that fans could do without including it in every situation. Whether they are supporting the cause of King James or His Airness, fans will try to build their case by trying to tear the other legend down. One of the most common ways LeBron’s game is discredited is that people say he lacks the killer instinct that Michael Jordan or even Kobe Bryant had.
LeBron James has won nearly everything there is to in the NBA, and he’s collected the biggest accolades multiple times. The King has single-handedly led teams to the NBA Finals multiple times, putting up incredible stats. And he is on the verge of breaking some immense records in the NBA, so that argument has always been a weak one.
Shaquille O’Neal Has A Simple Answer For Those That Say LeBron James Lacks A Killer Instinct
Shaquille O’Neal played against Michael Jordan when he was in his prime, he watched Kobe Bryant become one of the game’s greatest, and he is one of the best himself. So he can safely be considered an authority on killer instinct. And during an interview with N.O.R.E, Shaq provided a crisp answer to the idea that LeBron James doesn’t have a killer instinct.
"If you don't have killer instinct, how you get 38,000 points?"
Shaq on whether LeBron James has killer instinct
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 9, 2022
N.O.R.E: “They say that Kobe was, like it was just all about the win for Kobe.”
Shaquille O’Neal: “Yeah, it was.”
N.O.R.E: “But then you look at Jordan’s story, and they say it’s all about that. But then, the one critique that everyone says about LeBron James is that he didn’t have the killer instinct.”
Shaquille O’Neal: “So I have a question for the panel. When he needs to average 16 points this year to pass up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. So if he passes up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in points, does that make him the greatest player ever… Because, if you don’t have killer instinct, how you get 38,000 points? I’m just asking.”
There can be no doubt that the idea that James doesn’t have a killer instinct is a wild one. Other greats may have better Finals records, but James has playoff records of his own. It’s certainly something to think about, and while Jordan might be the GOAT, scanning LeBron in this way doesn’t quite make sense, either.
