Shaquille O’Neal Defends Kobe’s Legacy…
Shaquille O’Neal is tired of Kobe Bryant being left out of the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversations. It’s like saying Hollywood’s greatest movie monster is Godzilla when King Kong and the other giant, hairy guys are snoozing in the background! Shaq and Kobe were like magic on the court, winning three straight championships in the early 2000s as the dynamic duo of the Los Angeles Lakers. Though Shaq is often hailed as the most dominant player in NBA history, poor Kobe seems to get as much love in the GOAT debates as a cat at a dog show. Shaq hopped on the Straight Game Podcast and expressed his frustration, saying, “Just mention all the names.” One could almost imagine the audience nodding like bobbleheads while trying to avoid an eye roll, definitely not wanting to feel the rath of Shaq!
Former NBA player and podcast host Eddie House joined in on making the point that Kobe is seen as a “carbon copy” of Michael Jordan, which sparked a fun back-and-forth with Shaq. It’s like someone swapping a cupcake for a muffin and debating if they taste the same—it just doesn’t make sense to Shaq that Kobe wouldn’t be mentioned alongside the legends. While Shaq never claims Kobe is the undisputed greatest, he stresses that the Black Mamba deserves a seat at the table. And if tables had personalities, this one would likely be shaking its legs in agreement while planning karaoke night. During the same chat, Shaq threw some playful trash talk at Mike Bibby, saying that crushing Bibby’s Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals was the cherry on top of his career cake. Looks like Shaq still knows how to nickname as well as he dominates in the paint!
