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Former NBA Champion Believes Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal Wouldn’t Be as Dominant in the League Today

Published 03/24/2022, 1:30 PM EDT

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Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal are among the list of the most dominant players to have ever set foot in the NBA. Jordan was explosive on both offense and defense. He hit impossible shots while also being a defensive juggernaut. The same goes for Shaq. The big man was dominant in the low post and was also a strong rebounder. In essence, the appearance of these two on the court was fearsome for their respective oppositions.

With 10 titles under their belt together, and a whole host of amazing moments, Shaq and MJ clearly are among the best to play the game. Many even agree that they would dominate in today’s NBA landscape. However, not all agree to that point of view. One person who disagrees is Shaq’s former teammate Jason Williams. In a recent interview, Williams explained how Shaq and MJ would not be as dominant in today’s NBA.

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Jason Williams on Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal

In a recent interview with ‘BroBible‘, former Miami Heat star, Jason Williams stated that MJ and Shaq would not be as dominant in today’s NBA and explained his reasons for the same.

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“I think it will be a little harder for him (Michael Jordan) now because the defenses have changed. Now he’s going to have 3 guys on the same side of the floor when he has the ball. Whereas, back in the day he just had 1 guy,” said Williams on MJ.

“Shaq wouldn’t be as dominant as he was back then today. Just because there’d be 4-5 guys around him that didn’t even have the ball. So it’d be tough,” stated Williams on Shaq.

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Clearly, Williams believes that both players would not be able to play as they had done before in today’s NBA.

MJ and Shaq in Their Careers

Many still regard Jordan as the Greatest of All-Time (GOAT). With six titles that included 2 three-peats, MJ took the NBA by storm. Every time he was on the floor, fans knew with certainty that he would win the game. In fact, an example of this is the 1998 NBA finals, where he stole the ball from Karl Malone and hit a clutch shot to seal the title victory.

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Shaquille O’Neal was a big man of a different breed. With strength and speed, he dominated the opposition. After making an impact with the Orlando Magic, Shaq would join forces with Kobe on the Lakers, where he won 3 titles in a row. Thereafter, he teamed up with Jason Williams and Dwyane Wade in Miami and gave the franchise its first-ever NBA championship.

Both players have spectacular resumes and a huge body of work that they have put in. So it’s not easy to say that they won’t live up to the same potential today as they had done before.

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Regardless, it would be spectacular to see MJ and Shaq, with today’s NBA superstars battling it out.

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Written by:

Sameer Prasad Koppolu

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Sameer is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Having graduated from Manipal Institute of Technology, he has always had a keen interest in basketball and the numbers behind the game. With a goal to become a Sports Performance Analyst for a professional sports team, Sameer brings insights backed by data.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima