- Ex-Heat guard Mario Chalmers also discussed the Lakers star’s legacy on Wednesday.
- He said he has faced backlash in the past for once having the same opinions as Shaq
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Shaquille O’Neal has boldly claimed that NBA players in the current era no longer fear LeBron James like they did when Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan played, as his opinion divides fans with some claiming the NBA icon has ‘zero idea’ has. .
O’Neal — a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA TNT analyst — shared his thoughts during a conversation with former Heat guard Mario Chalmers, who won two rings with James in Miami, on “The Big Podcast,” co-hosted by no one other than ‘Shaq Daddy’ himself.
“I’ve heard players, including myself, say, ‘I was scared of Mike (Jordan).’
“I’ve never heard a player say he was afraid of LeBron.”
O’Neal went on to describe James as a “nice guy” after Chalmers said he once faced backlash in the past for having the same opinions as the former big man.
Shaquille O’Neal described LeBron James as a ‘nice guy’, suggesting players aren’t afraid of him
James prefers to be liked rather than feared because of the criticism he has faced throughout his career, claims former Heat teammate Mario Chalmers
Shaq insists that players of his generation were more afraid of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan than today’s hoopers were of James
“I was killed for that,” Chalmers said. “I didn’t think players were really afraid of LeBron like they were of Jordan.
“I’ve never heard anyone say it,” Shaq added before Chalmers explained his position.
“It’s not like players shouldn’t be afraid of LeBron,” Chalmers said, adding, “I just think … ultimately, ‘Bron has been through so much that he wanted to be liked.
“So it was like…” “I’m going to do things now so that people like me, people respect me.” I mean (people will) always respect what (he) did, except you I’m really going to like ‘Bron’ and want to be a fan of ‘Bron’ now. So I guess that was it…’
Chalmers won two rings with James during their time together on the Heat in the mid-2000s
Stunned by both former players’ opinions of the Los Angeles Lakers star, fans pointed to James’ playoff record in the Eastern Conference during his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers as evidence that opponents did not want to match up with the four-time NBA champion . and his teammates.
“Just ask the same question to a player in the Eastern Conference in 2010,” one user shared on X (Twitter).
“Raptors would like to have a quick word with Shaq,” another tweeted, referring to James’ 12-2 career playoff record against Toronto.
Another user said: ‘Lebron was definitely feared in the East during his prime, stop it.’