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LeBron James’ Under Fire Teammate Finds Support in Lakers Legend Shaquille O’Neal With Insane Statistic

Published 10/06/2022, 6:30 AM EDT

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The Los Angeles Lakers have been the talk of the town for the past two seasons. After their historic win in the 2020 NBA Finals, played in the bubble, the Lakers have failed to make it back to the Finals since. Furthermore, the Lakers, led by LeBron James, had one of the worst seasons in franchise history this past season. Last year, they failed to even make the playoffs.

The addition of All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook has arguably been a disaster for the team. Brodie has failed to live up to the expectations of playing in his hometown team. Many Lakers fans are already vouching for the management to ship Russ out of town, but a Los Angeles Lakers legend thinks otherwise.

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Since LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019, the team has been in the headlines almost every other week. In the 2018-2019 season, the team underachieved, following which the Lakers traded heaven and earth to acquire the All-Star forward Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. In just his first year, Anthony Davis would prove to be a game changer for the team, as the Lakers would make it back to the NBA Finals after a decade.

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The duo of Davis and James would dominate the Western Conference and secure a spot in the 2020 NBA Finals. In the series, they faced the Miami Heat, and in a thrilling six-game series, the Lakers came out on top, with LeBron James winning his fourth championship and fourth NBA Finals MVP.

Russell Westbrook had arguably one of his worst seasons last year. The nine-time All-Star arguably could not keep the ball in check and had a high turnover rate combined with career-low efficiencies. On the other hand LeBron James, at 37, had one of his greatest seasons ever.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal still has faith in LeBron James’ teammate – Russell Westbrook

Despite his poor performance in the 2021-22 NBA season, the Brodie stans still have immense faith in the comeback of the former NBA regular season MVP. This includes the four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.

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USA Today via Reuters

In a recent Instagram story posted by the All-Star center, O’Neal can be seen endorsing Westbrook. The story included a repost of a graphic of Westbrook’s dominance over the past few years. The graphic displays Brodie’s stats since winning his MVP in 2016. According to the post, Westbrook is #3 in points, #9 in rebounds, #1 in assists, and #2 in steals in the last six years. Moreover, he is the only player in the top 10 in the above four categories.

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If Westbrook can play at an elite level again, similar to his OKC days, then he may still have a chance to stay in Hollywood. Until then, Brodie will be an active part of the trade rumors floating around the Lakers.

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Watch the Story – Russell Westbrook vs. Stephen curry, what do the numbers say on whos the better point guard?

Do you think the Lakers should trade Westbrook? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by:

K Shrijith

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K Shrijith is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Currently pursuing his BBA degree, Shrijith has a keen interest in the world of finance. In fact, he has past experience in equity research and writing research reports on the subject of finance.
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Edited by:

Veer Badani