Shaquille O’Neal appeared on the New Heights podcast recently, where he was asked to name his all-time NBA starting five. O’Neal went with a power-packed lineup, but there was one notable exclusion.
“[Stephen] Curry at the one,” O’Neal said. “Kobe [Bryant] at the two. [Michael] Jordan at the three. Tim Duncan at the four and me at the five. Nobody’s beating that team.”
Leaving LeBron James out was an interesting decision, and O’Neal addressed it immediately.
“I don’t know how your guy’s going to edit it,” O’Neal stated. “But let’s just say I did that to somebody that didn’t like us, and then they’ll lead off with ‘Shaq excludes LeBron.’ And it causes like unnecessary beef… I hate doing these lists because I don’t want people to think I’m dissing them.
“But you ask me my team, I need a shooter, I need the best shooter in the world,” O’Neal continued. “Second guy I name is a guy who I helped raise. I know he’s a f***ing dog. I know what he’s going to do. And the other guy, Jordan, is the guy everybody looks up to… I know Kobe going to be trying to do what Jordan trying to do.
“So, you got Steph shooting threes when I get doubled,” O’Neal added. “Kobe and Michael doing this inner thing, and then you got the Big Fundamental taking that motherf*****, facing you up shooting off the glass, and then you got me. That’s my team.”
Even with James, who has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and one assist title in his career, not on it, this is a great team. Let’s have a look at the selections.
Stephen Curry is O’Neal’s point guard, and he is the greatest shooter in NBA history. Curry has won four titles, one Finals MVP, two MVPs, and two scoring titles in his career. He has also made 11 All-Star and 11 All-NBA teams.
O’Neal’s former teammate, Kobe Bryant, is the shooting guard. Bryant won five titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He made 18 All-Star, 15 All-NBA, and 12 All-Defensive teams.
Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, has to be slotted in at small forward in this team. Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles in his career. He made 14 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and nine All-Defensive teams.
Tim Duncan got the nod at power forward from O’Neal, and he is regarded as the best ever at the position. Duncan won five titles, three Finals MVPs, and two MVPs with the San Antonio Spurs. He made 15 All-Star, 15 All-NBA, and 15 All-Defensive teams.
O’Neal chose himself at center, and this is one instance where someone can’t be called out for being biased. He won four titles, three Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles in his career. O’Neal made 15 All-Star, 14 All-NBA, and three All-Defensive teams.
O’Neal also named Jordan, Bryant, and Duncan on his list of the 10 greatest NBA players of all time. James was third there while Curry did not make it in. O’Neal didn’t include himself either. He initially ranked himself at 10th, but then gave that spot to Julius Erving.
