Shaquille O’Neal notably omitted one current Los Angeles Lakers star from his all-time starting five.
O’Neal and James were actually teammates in the NBA for a short period of time. The former played alongside James on the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2009-10 campaign, and the team’s season came to an end after it lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs.
What stands out at first glance from the 52-year-old’s all-time starting five is that all of the players included have long since retired from the NBA. Bryant decided to call it quits on his pro career the most recently out of the five names, but his last season — the 2015-16 campaign — in the league came almost a decade ago.
O’Neal also played against several of the players in his all-time lineup. He faced off against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs on more than one occasion when O’Neal was in the early stages of his career and played for the Orlando Magic.
Also, when O’Neal was with the storied Lakers franchise, he met Malone’s Utah Jazz in the playoffs in back-to-back years. First, the two teams met in the second round of the 1997 NBA Playoffs, and the Jazz won that series in five games.
The Lakers and Jazz then met in the Western Conference Finals in the 1998 NBA Playoffs, and that matchup was even more one-sided, as O’Neal and Bryant were swept by Utah.
The players that O’Neal included in his all-time starting lineup are all incredible talents, but it was perhaps a questionable decision for him not to slot James at one of the forward spots instead of Erving or Malone.
Both players have fewer All-Star selections, NBA titles, Finals MVPs, All-NBA nods and All-Defensive selections than James does, and the 39-year-old’s career in the league isn’t over yet. James is heading into his 22nd season in the NBA and seventh with the Lakers organization.
