- Former Heat guard Mario Chalmers also discussed the Lakers star’s legacy Wednesday.
- He said he had faced backlash in the past for once taking the same stance as Shaq
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
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Shaquille O’Neal has boldly claimed that NBA players in today’s era don’t fear LeBron James like they did back when Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan used to play, as his opinion leaves fans divided with some claiming that the NBA- the icon has “zero idea”.
O’Neal — a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA TNT analyst — offered his take while talking to former Heat guard Mario Chalmers, who won two rings with James in Miami on ‘The Big Podcast,’ like no other was hosted by. than ‘Shaq Daddy’ himself.
“I’ve heard players say, myself included, “I feared Mike (Jordan).” I’ve heard players of (Chalmer’s) generation say they feared Kobe,” O’Neal said at the outset.
‘I’ve never really heard any player say they feared 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 opinion as the former big man.
Shaquille O’Neal described LeBron James as a ‘good guy’ and suggested players don’t fear him
James would rather be liked than feared because of criticism he has faced throughout his career, claims former Heat teammate Mario Chalmers
Shaq insists players of his generation feared Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan more than today’s crop of hoopers fear James
“I was killed for it,” Chalmers said. ‘I didn’t think the players really feared LeBron the way they did Jordan.
“I’ve never heard anybody say that,” Shaq added, before Chalmers clarified his position.
‘It’s not that players shouldn’t fear LeBron,’ Chalmers said, adding: ‘I just think… at the end of the day, ‘Bron has been through so much that he wanted to be loved.
“So, it was kind of like…”I want to do things now so people like me, people respect me.” I mean (people) will always respect what (he) did, but you ‘ actually come to like ‘Bron and want to be a fan of ‘Bron now. So I guess that’s what it was…’
Chalmers won two rings with James during their time together on the Heat in the mid-2000s
Confused by both former players’ opinion of the Los Angeles Lakers star, fans pointed to James’ Eastern Conference playoff record during his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers as evidence that opponents didn’t want to match up against the four-time NBA champion. and his teammates.
“Just ask any player in the Eastern Conference in the 2010s the same question,” shared a user on X (Twitter).
“Raptors would like to have a word with Shaq,” tweeted another, 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.’