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Shaq saying something cocky certainly isn’t anything new. What makes this one different is that he may actually be right this time.
Look, I am an extremely casual basketball fan — the last live game I went to was the Nets’ first season in Brooklyn and I usually only tune into games if I’ve got betting interest or if it’s the playoffs. So, with that in mind, I outsourced to my co-worker and resident BroBible basketball expert Jorge (@Gifdsports), and he said that Shaq’s claim has got some legitimacy to it, as he thinks the Shaq and Kobe Bryant-led Lake Show would take down Michael Jordan’s Bulls. And the main reason he thinks that is because of the man who brought up the discussion to begin with: Shaq.
“Kobe/Shaq [would win], the Bulls wouldn’t be able to stop Shaq in his prime,” Jorge told me.
“Series score?” I asked.
“I don’t know, 4-2. Shaq was a beast and was averaging something like 35/15 against good defensive centers in the Finals. He would have killed Will Perdue, Luc Longley, or whoever they had at center. Kobe and Jordan would have kind of negated each other. Some people say Shaq would get shutdown by Rodman but, ehhhh, I don’t know about that.”
Shaq’s peak was crazy. Look at those finals numbers. My goodness. pic.twitter.com/SbJ7KFiotH
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/TUNEMOD3/status/1250605009324003330
While the allure of Michael Jordan’s legacy is hard to bet against, the fact is that basketball is a team sport and Jorge thinks the Bulls team wouldn’t have an answer for Shaq. Michael Jordan was an incredible defender, but he certainly wouldn’t be able to stick Shaq Diesel in the post himself — the man can’t do it all. Still, though, MJ was just different, so who knows.
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter @eric_ital for movie and soccer takes or contact him eric@brobible.com