Last Updated on July 25, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
When Shaquille O’Neal says Kobe Bryant is the best player he has played with, he is putting him ahead of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Alonzo Mourning, and Penny Hardaway. It could be that he thinks Kobe is the overall best player out of all of those names, but he’s probably referring to Kobe being the best player who played with him during the time that Shaq was playing with all of those players. For instance, when Shaq says Kobe was better than Lebron, he is referring to the one year he played with Lebron James in 2009-2010. That said, in 2009-2010 when Shaq played for the Cavs, it was Lebron’s seventh year in the league. So Lebron was in fact in his prime.
If I were to try to side with Lebron James and create reasons why Shaq’s opinion may be inaccurate, I would start by saying that Shaq himself was not in his prime when he played with Lebron in 2009-2010, and if Shaq wasn’t in his prime then it is harder for Lebron to use his physical and mental skills to get the most out of the team. The better the players are around you, the easier it becomes for you to help the team be better overall. For instance, Tracy McGrady was a great playmaker but often in vain because the plays wouldn’t be finished off by his teammates. Lebron was similar to McGrady in that he was more of a playmaker for most of his career than a pure scorer like Kobe was. Moreover, it’s easier to see the talent and skill level of a pure scorer. Indeed Michael Jordan was a great player, but it’s not hard to see why: he directly impacted the game in ways that you could not miss. Kobe was similar in that regard.