Shaquille O’Neal said that LeBron James is better than LA Lakers teammate Luka Doncic, and a two-time MVP.
Shaquille O’Neal is an LA Lakers legend. He won three championships, three Finals MVPs and one NBA MVP during his time in LA. He’s one of the greatest players of all-time, and most dominant big men the sport has seen.
He was a teammate of LeBron James for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009. 16 years later, James is still an All-NBA calibre player for the Lakers. O’Neal said that not only is James still an All-Star, but he’s currently the best player on his team over superstar teammate Luka Doncic.
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesShaquille O’Neal says LeBron James is currently better than Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo
O’Neal said that James is better than LA Lakers teammate Doncic, and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in a recent video.
He was asked to break a stick when a better player than James was named on Overtime’s social media. O’Neal thought stars such as the Houston Rockets’ Kevin Durant and NBA Finalist Tyrese Haliburton are not better than James, as well as Doncic and Antetokounmpo.
O’Neal only broke the stick when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the NBA title and MVP last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, was mentioned.
The Lakers have said they were focusing on building around Doncic, who they traded for last season. James considered leaving LA as he hoped to position himself to win a fifth NBA championship. The Lakers have since made moves, and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer looks set to stay.
In his 22nd season, James was named to the All-NBA second team, an unprecedented achievement for the 40-year-old. He averaged 24-8-8 last year as the Lakers secured the three-seed in the West.
Despite his incredible longevity, James isn’t better than Antetokounmpo or Doncic. While Antetokounmpo hasn’t had postseason success of late, the Milwaukee Bucks cannot build a contender around him, and his teammates have suffered injuries late in seasons.
Antetokounmpo averaged 30 and 12 last season, finishing third in MVP voting. Meanwhile, Doncic’s body transformation this summer makes him an MVP front-runner ahead of the 2025-26 season, as he looks to lead the Lakers to the title.
Luka Doncic survives injury scare for Slovenia ahead of 2025 Eurobasket
Doncic’s transformation was one of the stories of the summer. He was criticised by his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, for being out of shape. Doncic responded to the Mavericks emphatically and now looks better than ever.
He’s been on fire for Slovenia in their pre-Eurobasket warm-up games, but survived a brutal injury scare in their recent game. Doncic was taken out by a teammate in the paint, but thankfully suffered only a right knee contusion and is scheduled to return to play in Slovenia’s next game against Great Britain.
Doncic scored 26 points in the first half against Latvia before suffering his injury. He led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2024, but this appears to be the best version of the Slovenian we have ever seen.
EuroBasket is an opportunity for Doncic to adjust to his new playing weight and show the world what to expect when he returns to the Lakers. If he’s the player he’s expected to be next season, watch him put his name into the conversation for best player alive.