"LeBron is more of an “opportunity” CEO": Shaquille O'Neal once wrote about how he distinguished between the King and Dwyane Wade
Shaquille O'Neal had the luxury of playing alongside great NBA players in his 19 seasons in the league. Two of them are Dwyane Wade and LeBron James and in the seven-foot-one's book 'Shaq Uncut', he was asked the difference between both players.
"People ask me all the time: If you had to choose between DWade and LeBron, which one would you take? Which one would you make the CEO? It’s just a really tough question. LeBron is a better decision-maker. DWade will hit more last-second shots," said O'Neal.
LeBron James is still active in the NBA right now and has always been known as a a player who would like to get all his teammates involved and a pass-first leader. On the other hand, Dwyane Wade likes to attack the rim and will never hesitate to score given an opening.
"Lots of superstars in their position want and need to take that last shot. LeBron is more of an “opportunity” CEO. He’s not afraid to take the last shot, but he won’t hesitate to pass it to an open Mike Miller, either," compares Shaq.
Shaquille O'Neal has spent three and a half seasons playing with Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat and was able to deliver a championship together in 2006.
Shaq talks about his ego, he submitted to a lesser unproven player in Dwayne Wade to spite Kobe when he went to Miami.
He would have had just as many rings as Kobe if he worked a tad bit harder and didn't mind sharing the limelight, Kareem had no issue passing the torch to Magic pic.twitter.com/5qdz2F1evY twitter.com/LegionHoops/st…
LeBron James only had the chance to play with Shaquille O'Neal at the back end of his career when the big man was 37 years old during the 2009-10 season. James was named league MVP that year doing 29.7 points, 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
Shaq only played 53 games as a part of that Cleveland Cavaliers roster doing 12.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.
“LeBron had Shaq in Cleveland!”
But it was Old Shaq. He averaged just 11.5 PPG in the 2010 Playoffs. pic.twitter.com/mIGxMC7SrT
Shaquille O'Neal would have made it hard for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the 2011 NBA Playoffs
Eventually, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade teamed up with Chris Bosh to form the 'Heatles' back in 2011. This was the last year Shaq was in the NBA but that last year with the Boston Celtics came to a halt as the big man suffered an injury to end his basketball career.
Lebron Highlights in Heat Debut vs Celtics - 2011 SZN pic.twitter.com/wksIWvR2sr
The Celtics have their own big three at that moment with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett plus key players like Glen Davis, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins.
Shaquille O'Neal reflects on the missed opportunity to play a full season with the Boston Celtics and they could have given the Heat a run for their money in the NBA Eastern Conference.
“I always think that if I wouldn’t have got hurt, we could have at least made it to The Finals,” Shaq told Heavy. “I always say that. I wish Danny (Ainge) didn’t trade Perk (Kendrick Perkins) that year, because, I mean, we were like No. 1 throughout the whole year."
Celtics finished the year with a 56-26 record but lost in the NBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Miami Heat, 1-4.