Shaquille O’Neal believes ‘soft’ league helped extend LeBron James’ career

Shaquille O'Neal has played against and alongside LeBron James for a long enough time to know how his game has matured.

Shaquille O’Neal believes ‘soft’ league helped extend LeBron James’ career

Shaquille O'Neal and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James

LeBron James has maintained his elite play in all the twenty-seasons of his NBA career. This unprecedented form is down to his dedication towards fitness and his attention to detail. Those along with his unreal motivation to keep winning have helped the Los Angeles Lakers superstar to stay at the top.

His performances have been such that he is now the new standard for a player in their 22nd season. He is currently averaging 24.6 points, 8 rebounds and 8.4 assists. The last player to play 22 seasons was the great Vince Carter, and he averaged all of 5 points, one fifth of what James is averaging.

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James even beat Carter’s 21st season record of 7.4 points per game. It goes to show how much more conditioned and fit the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is. TV personality Roy Wood Jr. was on the Big Podcast with Shaq, and he asked Shaquille O’Neal if the lack of physicality has helped James play this long and this hard.

Definitely, less physical. Right now, you get a flagrant foul, you get fines and suspended, guys aren’t even fouling hard no more. Before I played it was crazy, but when I played it was crazy. The 80’s going to 90’s it was probably more physical.

Shaquille O’Neal said

O’Neal believes the lack of physical play has helped LeBron James play this long. If the Lakers superstar had to face the physicality from eras past, he might have retired by now. O’Neal believes that the league has become soft.

Shaquille O’Neal gives LeBron James his props

The four-time NBA champion was not necessarily dissing on his former teammate. Instead, later on while talking about greatness, he said this about the now 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar playing in his 22nd season.

LeBron was one of those students that was always sitting at the front of the class. We were coming, LeBron was right there, he was a young kid. We were winning championships, LeBron was still there. LeBron is some s**t we ain’t never seen, he’s great, he gets his props.

Shaquille O’Neal said

Shaquille O’Neal believes the Akron native has been studying everyone all throughout his growing years in the league. He believes the superstar was already good but started to show his greatness towards the end of his first run with the Cleveland Cavaliers and during his time with the Miami Heat.

The big man believes James is unique in his greatness and does not have a comparison. In this era, he is head and shoulders above the rest. The problem he has is when other current players think they are great even though they have not done anything as great as James.

Shaquille O’Neal clarifies his stance on greatness

Shaquille O’Neal played in the NBA from 1992 to 2011. In that span, he has played against Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and other greats. He also grew up watching Dr. Julius Erving and the greats of those times. With that knowledge and experience, he believes he knows greatness when he sees it.

I’ve seen what greatness is, been there played with them. I don’t see that all the time over here. So, you want me to give them the same props I’m giving them. You can call them hate if you want. If you ain’t great and I’m great, how the f**k am I hating on you. I’m in the building, you are not in the building.

Shaquille O’Neal said

He believes most of the players in today’s NBA cannot hold a candle to past players. They are highly paid right now, but it does not necessarily mean they are good. All that money is due to the CBA and not necessarily their greatness. He wants players to be great first, then brag about what they have.