Although Bruce Lee never played in NBA or any other sport, he was famous across all sports. The legend was and still is an inspiration to many athletes, and somewhere everyone aspired to be like the martial artist. However, Shaquille O’Neal once used the name of the legend to answer a question about the basketball GOAT.

Will O’Neal stand a chance against Bruce Lee in a fight?

Neither Shaq nor the legendary Lee attempted their hands at each other’s sport. Yet, when Lee wanted to compare two basketball greats, he compared himself with the MMA great. In 2015, O’Neal visited Hong Kong to promote an energy drink.

According to Coconuts Hong Kong, O’Neal talked about his sport and its iconic players and also picked his favorites. However, when it came to naming the GOAT of the NBA, he was uncertain. He said, “I’ve seen young Mike and young LeBron and I must say Dr. J is still my favorite player. A lot of people today don’t even mention his name, but to me, I still think he was the best. But these are questions that we’ll never know the answer to.”

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Shaq stated Erving aka Dr. J was the best but still did not label him as the GOAT. To support his answer further, O’Neal, who was in Lee’s motherland, used himself and the iconic actor as an example. He explained, “It’s a bit like if I met Bruce Lee in an alleyway. Who would win? You’ll never know. Some people say well Bruce would kick Shaq’s ass. Some people say well Shaq is two times bigger than Bruce Lee. It’s a good question, a good conversation. But we’ll never know.”

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Although Lee did not play basketball, he had a close connection with the game. He was close friends with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Although their friendship was not a famous one, it was still legendary.

Lee and Jabbar once brought MMA and NBA closer

One of the most iconic NBA players, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is one of the few lucky people who once trained with the legendary Bruce Lee. The two met through a mutual friend Jim Cleamons.

The two legends’ friendship was one that no one saw coming. However, Jabbar was impressed by Lee’s unique martial arts skills. Intrigued by him, Jabbar asked Lee to train him. However, Lee agreed to his new friend’s request only if Jabbar promised to dedicate himself to martial arts. The basketball player admitted Lee’s condition and trained under the legend.

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The training did not just help Jabba become one of the NBA GOATs but also helped him gain a great friend like Bruce Lee.