“I see him getting four MVPs” – When Shaquille O’Neal precisely predicted LeBron James’ future in the NBA originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Part of Shaquille O’Neal‘s job as an NBA analyst is to make certain predictions. In 2013, he foresaw LBJ dominating an entire era in historic fashion.
Advertisement
“LeBron is somebody I see taking over,” O’Neal said in 2013. “He’s hot right now. He’s doing something that’s rare. I see him getting four MVPs.”
As Shaq called it, James secured his fourth MVP award that season. On top of that, O’Neal was also right about his prediction that Bron would be the most dominant player in the league for the next several years.
Throughout the 2010s, James led his teams to the Finals nine times, winning four titles in the process. Looking back at O’Neal’s comments in 2013, it’s as if he time-traveled into the future.
Advertisement
Shaq acknowledged LeBron’s fame
O’Neal was no stranger to being the best player in the league. During his prime, he was considered the NBA’s most dominant big man.
Despite once owning the coveted title, Shaq openly heaped praise on Bron. In fact, he never felt bad about it, even though his son admittedly admired James more than him.
“Oh yeah, no problem with it. Never that,” Shaq said, admitting that he had no issues with his son idolizing James. “Even though my dad was the best player in my neighborhood I’ve seen in my life, Dr. J was the man.”
Advertisement
Shaq wished he was like LeBron
As James’ NBA career took off, many fans began to crown him the NBA GOAT. For someone who has always applauded LBJ, Shaq acknowledged the basis of the famous narrative and also believed that James would go down in NBA history as one of the greatest players of all time.
However, as much as he admired LeBron, Shaq once admitted to feeling “jealous” of James. For O’Neal, it was baffling how quick people were to declare James as arguably the one and only GOAT, while he, who was also once the best player in the league, never achieved that status.
Advertisement
“I’m a little bit jealous of LeBron, and let me tell you why,” O’Neal once opened up. “We’re all part of the barbershop talk. Greatest analyst, greatest shooters, one of the most dominant big men. But I would like my name in the conversation of greatest of all time. I’m not in that conversation, he is. Kobe Bryant is, Michael Jordan is.”
“I ask people this all the time, when he passes up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in points, what you gonna say about LeBron James? Is he the greatest player of all time, one of the greatest players? But I would also love to be in that position where I’m the number one spot,” he continued.
To this day, O’Neal still constantly shares his real thoughts on James and his legacy. He rarely shies away from expressing his predictions and what he truly feels about LBJ.
Advertisement
In fact, back in 2021, O’Neal made another prediction about James and once again, he was right. As per Shaq, he could tell that Bron has been yearning to silence his doubters and end the GOAT debate by dethroning Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leader in career points.
O’Neal projected James to accomplish that feat in two years. In February 2023, LBJ became the NBA’s new all-time scoring leader. Instead of being the league’s GOAT, perhaps Shaq is the NBA’s oracle.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 2, 2025, where it first appeared.