LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) — When Shaquille O’Neal isn’t boasting about his placement on the fictional All-Time Los Angeles Lakers, he’s sweeping the dust off tired debates, with a new twist.
Shaq proclaimed Michael Jordan the winner of his fictional matchup with LeBron James, before saying that Julius Erving would own them all.
“It would be an interesting game,” O’Neal told Yahoo! Sports. “Young LeBron was more like Magic Johnson. He was sort of like Magic with Jordan’s abilities. He liked to pass, and he liked to get it up.”
“But Mike was Mike. He was just special, like no one else. He always did things no one else could do, and things you couldn’t compare to anyone else. So he was special, and he’d win.”
Shaq moved on from the aged argument to proclaim Dr. J the “best.”
“I’ve seen young Mike and young LeBron and I must say Dr. J is still my favorite player,” O’Neal told Yahoo! Sports. “A lot of people today don’t even mention his name but to me I still think he was the best. But these are questions that we’ll never know the answer to.”
James has averaged 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 12 seasons. Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 15 seasons. Erving averaged 22 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 11 NBA seasons. Erving averaged 28.7 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists in five ABA seasons.
Jordan said earlier this month that there was “no question” he could beat James in a game of one-on-one.
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