“I Would Have Laid His Little A** Out”: Shaquille O’Neal on Stephen Curry Playing in His Generation

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal believes his Los Angeles Lakers could easily have beaten Stephen Curry and Michael Jordan’s respective dynasties.

Jordan and Curry were the heart of Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors teams respectively when they dominated the NBA for a significant period. The Warriors, in fact, could even continue their dominance as they have been undeniably the most consistent team in the last decade.

The Warriors were finalists in the last five seasons- winning three of them. They won two consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018, and narrowly missed a three-peat, losing the finals last season to Toronto Raptors.

The Bulls of the 1990s, meanwhile, need no new introduction, especially at the time of The Last Dance. The 10-episode docuseries from ESPN has been celebrating the greatness of Michael Jordan and his Bulls side. They were the winners of six titles in eight seasons between 1990 and 1998 with two incredible three-peats.

While it might be difficult to compare teams from different generations, many draw parallels to the current Warriors and the Bulls from the 1990s.

Shaquille O’Neal believes he could have easily dealt with Stephen Curry

Shaquille O’Neal started his NBA career at a time when the Bulls had created their dynasty. He himself went on to win a three-peat a few years later playing alongside Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Talking on the Frank Caliendo podcast, Shaq claimed his Lakers would have beaten both the Warriors and the Bulls. While discussing if the Warriors would have been successful in any other generation, Shaq said it was difficult to predict.

He also claimed there isn’t any player in that side who could defend him and they would easily handle the likes of Curry. “We would have let Stephen Curry drive to the basket and I would have laid his little a** out a couple of times,” Shaq said.

It was in fact, he said, the way he and Kobe would deal with guards who threatened to cause problems.