Shaquille O'Neal believes LeBron James will retire as the greatest of all time if he surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer
LA Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal has high praise for his former teammate LeBron James. O'Neal said that James could become the greatest player in NBA history if he becomes the competition's all-time top scorer.
The two all-time greats played together for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009-10 NBA season when James was in the midst of his MVP years while O'Neal was on his last leg. Fast forward more than a decade later, James is cementing his legacy as one of the greatest of all time.
Shaquille O'Neal was drafted into the NBA in 1992, and is considered an 'old-head' who doesn't compliment players easily. Most NBA players who have played in the 90s view Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time, but O'Neal, surprisingly, has a different opinion.
As reported by Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner, Shaquille O'Neal believes King James will be the undisputed GOAT (Greatest of all time) if he surpasses Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. O'Neal said:
"He has got four rings, and he becomes the highest scorer in the NBA history. He’s the best ever...Ain’t nothing you can say...Cause if I would have passed Wilt (Chamberlain) in scoring, you know me. I would have been, ‘I’m the most dominant ever.’ I don’t want to hear (Chamberlain’s) name no more."
As great as Michael Jordan was, he didn't retire as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. So Shaquille O'Neal believes achieving the all-time leading scorer milestone for James would be bigger than winning two more championships to move level with Jordan (six). O'Neal added by saying:
"I know what he’s doing...Championships are great, but he’s trying to pass Kareem up. That’s what he is doing. I know exactly what he’s doing. Cause now if you pass Kareem up, it ain’t no talk about who the best player ever is. Think about that? I saw he needed to average (25) points or something like that the next few years, which he will do. He can do that in two more years."
LeBron James, arguably, has one of the most impressive resumes in NBA history. He is the only player to have averaged more than 25 points per game for 17 straight seasons. It doesn't look like he is going to slow down anytime soon, so he is quite capable of tallying 40,000 points in the NBA.
LeBron James is 1527 points behind Karl Malone and 2986 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
LeBron James is only 1527 points behind Karl Malone and 2986 adrift of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA's all-time scoring leaderboard. That is after his 34-point performance against the Golden State Warriors on the opening night of the 2021-22 NBA season.
LeBron James tonight:
34 Points
11 Rebounds
5 Assists
2 Steals
56% FG
5 threes https://t.co/aixUmxGksi
James is one of the most consistent scorers in the league. If he manages to stay away from injury in his 19th year, he could pass Karl Malone's mark this season.
James has never scored less than 1505 points in a season except last year when he was injured for the longest stretch of his career. He has scored more than 2000 points in a season ten times, but has not done so while in LA. So he could produce a big scoring season this year.
LeBron James scored his 30,000 point yesterday. The fastest in history to ever do so. Despite this, LeBron still shoots an effective percentage is known for being a "team" player on the court. #leader #wildcard
If he keeps up his current pace, James will be the NBA's all-time leading scorer in the 2022-23 NBA season.