Watch: Young Shaquille O'Neal goes up against his Dream Team III teammates
In a video uploaded on Reddit, Shaquille O'Neal was spotted playing 1-on-1 with his Dream Team III teammates.
Shaquille O'Neal can be seen handling his business in a classic 1-on-1 matchup against Scottie Pippen and Gary Payton. O'Neal didn't mess around as he backed down both on the post as they had no answer for the big man.
Shaquille O'Neal even went to show off his range from the perimeter and beyond the arc as his defenders all looked as if they were having a long day guarding him.
The superstar big man was fresh off his fourth and final season with the Orlando Magic after averaging 26.6 points per game (57.3% shooting) and 11.0 rebounds.
Before he signed his seven-year $121 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, O'Neal was busy putting the work on his Dream Team III teammates and against international teams.
Shaquille O'Neal and Dream Team III won gold in the 1996 Olympics
Looking over Team USA's track record in the 1996 Olympics, they were simply incredible. They didn't run into any problems or hiccups, as they finished the competition unbeatable with eight wins.
The team played dominant basketball from the jump and never looked back throughout the Olympics. In the final, Dream Team III was up against FR Yugoslavia. The opposition had no chance as the USA defeated them 95-69 to win the gold medal.
Shaquille O'Neal averaged 9.3 ppg (62.0% shooting) and 5.3 rpg during the team's gold medal run.
The team's Olympic run was so impressive that fans speculated that O'Neal ranks his Dream Team III above the original Dream Team with Michael Jordan.
The big man once responded to an Instagram post from Bleacher Report that celebrated the original Dream Team's performance to win gold against Croatia.
"There still the second best dream team ever, and yea I said it," O'Neal said.
According to a Basketball Network article by Stephen Beslic, O'Neal is most likely referring to his 1996 Dream Team.
His Dream Team III certainly has a case when lined up against the original Dream Team, as the 1996 Olympic roster also has an impressive record to back up their claim.
Before they were formed, the 1992 USA Olympic Team had much to prove after the country lost to the USSR in the 1988 Olympics, settling for bronze. They were the first team that readily deployed NBA talent to match up against the elite international teams.