LeBron James is widely regarded as the best NBA player of this generation if not the best. The ever-debated comparison with Michael Jordan has remained throughout LeBron’s storied career as the Akron-born player keeps breaking records. Despite putting himself in a league of its own, there still remain doubters of the Kings.
One such doubter is none other than the NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. The out-spoken NBA icon did not mince words when he said that opponents did not ‘fear’ the King enough. Now LeBron James has answered back to the legendary center’s remark.
LeBron James takes sly dig at Shaquille O’Neal
LeBron James tactfully dealt with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Shaquille O’Neal following the latter’s fear comment.
Sitting at the top of the NBA scoring table, the 39-year-old came under Shaq’s scrutiny for not being feared by his contemporaries. The comment did not sit well with LeBron who then went ahead to compare his statistics to that of the Big Diesel’s but in a sarcastic way.
![LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal](https://www.sportsknot.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Shaq-Bron-1024x512.webp)
On his Instagram story, the 20-time NBA All-Star shared a picture showing O’Neal played 1,207 games in his 19-season NBA career whereas, LeBron, who played 1,481 games so far in 21 years, scored 10+ points in 1210 games in a row. The Lakers forward wrote “Why is this so funny to me!!” along with multiple laughing emojis to take a sly dig at the 7-footer.
Last week, Shaq said that “nobody fears LeBron”.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 19, 2024
Today, LeBron’s story:
(More on @Digits3App: https://t.co/HK4yTt5bZh) pic.twitter.com/DUhZvXHRMN
It is worth noting here that LeBron has one of the longest-run careers in the league and is 130 shy games away from surpassing Robert Parish’s record of the highest NBA career games played. With his plans for the future, it might not be difficult for the 6th on the list.
LeBron’s story certainly must have reached the ears of Shaq along with the message underneath, making him re-think his next move.
Shaquille O’Neal quoted nobody fears LeBron James
Shaquille O’Neal, widely known for his off-court antics, often discusses different aspects of the NBA on his podcast, the latest being a taunt at the Lakers legend LeBron James.
While discussing the GOAT conversation on “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the former point guard Mario Chalmers talked about the current generation’s impression of LeBron, both agreed that LeBron failed to infuse fear among his opponents.
Comparing the different generations and former legends to the highest NBA scorer, Shaq said, “I’ve heard players say — including myself, — ‘I feared [Michael Jordan].’ I’ve heard players in your generation say they feared Kobe [Bryant]. I’ve never really heard any players say they fear LeBron.”
Chalmers responded to Shaq saying, “It’s not that you shouldn’t fear Bron. I just think at the end of the day, Bron has been through so much that he wanted to be liked. So it was kind of like, ‘I’m gonna do things now where people like me and people will respect me.'”
The two best dunkers haven’t come across each other yet but with his amusing take on the matter, LeBron is on the lead for now.