NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has made a bold claim about the three-time NBA champs Golden State Warriors. According to the Hall of Famer, he firmly believes that the Dubs would not have been a factor had they played during his prime.
O'Neal made the statement on a recent episode of his own podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” and this is exactly what he said about the Warriors' title odds during the 1990's/2000's.
“They would have been the sixth or seventh seed,” O’Neal said, via Tony Pesta of Fansided. “They wouldn’t have even been in the game.”
Shaq didn't dance around this one, and just said straight up that in his mind, the Warriors would have struggled to even make it to the playoffs, let alone contend for a title.
For the record, Warriors star Draymond Green earlier stated that former back-to-back MVP winner Stephen Curry and himself would have “destroyed” Shaq in pick-and-roll situations. Perhaps O'Neal caught wind of this statement, and fired back with his own jab against Green and the Dubs.
In all honesty, Shaq does make a bit of a point here. The Warriors are known for their small-ball style of play, and we can't imagine a guy like a 34-year-old Andrew Bogut or Kevon Looney or even Green himself trying to stop a prime Shaquille O'Neal in the post.
Then again, to say that the Warriors — with Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant all playing at the peak of their careers — would not have stood a chance. Surely, they would have given O'Neal and his Los Angeles Lakers a run for their money.
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