Shaquille O’Neal was a part of some of the finest one-two punches in NBA history over the course of his iconic career. O’Neal partnered with the likes of Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, and during an interview with Sports Illustrated, he named Stephen Curry as the player in today’s game that he’d want to team up with.
“Steph Curry,” O’Neal said. “‘Cause after you double me, I’mma kick it to him, and that jumper going to look so pretty going through the net.”
An O’Neal-Curry duo would be terrifying. You’d have one of the most dominant inside scorers in NBA history playing alongside the greatest shooter we have ever seen.
O’Neal, who won four NBA championships in his career, once claimed he would have won six titles if he played with Curry. You’d normally dismiss such claims, but these two could have won six together. Teams would have really struggled to figure out ways to slow them down.
Curry has also named O’Neal as the NBA player he wishes he played with. NBA teams sure are glad that never happened.
O’Neal has been accused of hating today’s players, but Curry is one whom he has always been very complimentary of. He has explained why he loves the Golden State Warriors’ superstar so much. O’Neal stated Curry is doing things he has never seen before.
O’Neal was able to shine on the basketball court because of his combination of size and skill. The 53-year-old was listed at 7’1″ and weighed over 300lbs during his playing career. O’Neal just overwhelmed opponents with his physicality and would win three Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles, to go with his four NBA titles.
As for Curry, he is listed at 6’2″ and doesn’t even weigh 200lbs. The fact that someone like him has won four titles, one Finals MVP, two MVPs, and two scoring titles blows O’Neal’s mind. So much so that you might think he tends to go a bit overboard when the 37-year-old’s name gets brought up.
Recently, O’Neal picked Curry as his GOAT over the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James. He is great, but not that great.
