The NBA has seen many great duos over the years, and Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are near the top of that list. They were incredibly dominant, and O’Neal thinks so highly of that partnership that he took offense when Overtime asked him who would win a 2v2 of them against Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in their primes.
“Stop it,” O’Neal said. “What are you doing?
When asked why he reacted in such a manner, O’Neal stated neither Curry nor Durant could guard him.
“Steph and KD vs. me and Kobe?” O’Neal asked. “Who the f*** is gonna guard me? Stop it. That’s the dumbest question I’ve ever heard in my life.”
That’s not the dumbest question ever, but you do understand O’Neal’s point about no one on the opposition being able to guard him. The best centers in the NBA had no answer for him at his peak, so what chance do Durant and Curry stand?
That said, O’Neal doesn’t stand a chance of guarding Durant and Curry either. The big man was very athletic at his peak, but even the best perimeter defenders in the league have trouble guarding those two.
That’s what makes this quite an intriguing battle. It’s hard to say who would come out on top in this 2v2 matchup. As for which was the better duo, in general, in the NBA, let’s have a look at what they achieved.
O’Neal and Bryant were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2004. They led the Lakers to a historic three-peat from 2000 to 2002, and no one has been able to win three titles in a row since.
O’Neal was at his devastating best in those three Finals series as well, averaging 35.8 points, 15.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.9 blocks. Those ridiculous numbers show why he is considered the most dominant player in NBA history. O’Neal also believes he and Bryant were the most dominant duo of all time.
As for Curry and Durant, they did come close to three-peating with the Golden State Warriors. They were teammates from 2016 to 2019 and made it to the NBA Finals in each of those three seasons.
The Warriors would emerge victorious in 2017 and 2018, but lost in six games to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals. That was largely due to Durant being able to play in just one of the games due to injury. So, they could well have three-peated.
While Curry and Durant had incredible success considering they were only teammates for three seasons, they were also playing alongside All-Stars in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Both Thompson and Green were in their primes as well.
O’Neal and Bryant didn’t have anyone nearly as good as those two next to them. Sure, Karl Malone and Gary Payton did join forces with them in 2003-04, but both were well past their peak at that point.
So, there is a lot to consider here, but if you had to pick one duo, you’d probably go with O’Neal and Bryant. Had Curry and Durant been together for a longer period of time and enjoyed more success, then perhaps you’d have given them the edge.
