There was a time not so long ago when Shaquille O’Neal would have been more than happy to take a free verbal shot at Kobe Bryant when given the chance.
But the feud between the two superstars that won three straight championships together with the Lakers has long since been quashed.
These days, O’Neal is more interested in giving his honest assessment of things. So, when he was asked whether Kobe or LeBron James was the better player, it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see him give a somewhat diplomatic response.
From Abe Schwadron of Antenna Magazine:
Kobe or LeBron?
“They’re different. LeBron is more of an all-around player — Hey this guy’s open, let me kick it to him. Kobe is more of, Oh, we’re down six? I’m going to shoot it three times and get us six points. But they’re both great players. It’s a matter of opinion. To me, Dr. J was the greatest player ever. But I ask other people, they say Jordan, some say Kobe, some people say LeBron. It’s always going to be a matter of opinion.”
It’s a fair assessment, of course, but you can’t blame us at least a little bit for missing the far more entertaining days when Shaq and Kobe weren’t exactly on the greatest of terms.
