Advertisement

Shaq hates NBA superteams: 'I'm from the era where guys wanted to compete'

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Shaq did team up with Kobe Bryant for a large part of his career. (Photo by Matt A. Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Shaquille O’Neal may have won three rings with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s, but he wouldn’t play for the team today. O’Neal bemoaned the idea of NBA superteams during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Kimmel asks O’Neal whether he would want to play on the Lakers or Los Angeles Clippers today. O’Neal responds with “not one of those teams,” and then launches into his explanation.

O’Neal’s response begins around 4:15.

O’Neal says, “I’m from the era where guys wanted to compete and beat each other. So I would wait to see who’s teaming up and doing that and I would go on a team that needs a superstar and I would teach those guys how to beat the superteams.”

His answer was met with applause.

While many seem to be in favor of O’Neal’s answer, he did play with both Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade over his career. It’s not a perfect comparison to how the league operates today, but O’Neal did play on some unbelievably talented teams.

Which team would O’Neal join in 2019? He didn’t say. But if he’s avoiding superteams, a reunion with the Orlando Magic would be fun for nostalgia’s sake.

———

Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

More from Yahoo Sports: