ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has recently shared his two cents worth on the whole Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal “beef” — something that both gentlemen have denied — that has taken the basketball world by storm of late.
Instead of sharing his opinion about the main issue at hand, however, Stephen A. digressed a bit, and instead, declared who he thinks the better player was between these two former Los Angeles Lakers superstars in their respective primes. Speaking on ESPN's First Take program, the renowned analyst said that he would one hundred percent take Kobe over Shaq, and went on to explain his reasons behind his choice.
“I am always partial to guards because centers need help,” Smith said. “If you're Shaq, you needed Kobe or somebody else to get you the basketball.. When you're a guard, you are more in a position to dictate the level of success that you ultimately accomplish for yourself.”
This is definitely an excellent point from Smith here, and it's hard to argue against this notion here. As he said, he believes Shaq remains to be one of the most dominant forces he has ever seen, but at the end of the day, he still needs the help of an elite guard.
Smith did not end there, though. He went on to expound on his decision by zeroing in on O'Neal's Achilles heel.
“But the biggest reason,” Smith added. “the biggest thing that I've held against Shaq more than anything is those free-throws.. From the free-throw line career-wise he was somewhat of a liability. You can't say the same about Kobe Bryant.”
Again, another valid argument from Smith here.
This is indeed a very polarizing issue, and surely, everyone will have their own opinion about it. Nevertheless, what we can all agree on is the fact that these two should go down in history as two of the best players this sport has ever seen.
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