Old is gold. That\u2019s the thought Shaquille O\u2019Neal probably had in his head when answering questions about LeBron James\u2019 greatness recently. The King, now 40 years old, is approaching his 23rd season in the league and, even today, is better than the vast majority of stars.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neal was asked about players better than James in a recent episode of Overtime. They gave the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> legend a tiny stick and asked him to break it any time they mentioned a player who, in his opinion, was above James. The Hall of Famer didn\u2019t even flinch when he was read the first batch of names, which included LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton<\/a>, and Karl-Anthony Towns.<\/p>\n Shaq also left the stick unbroken through even more prominent names like Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant<\/a>, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and LeBron\u2019s Lakers teammate, Luka Doncic. That said, he did slightly hesitate when the Greek Freak\u2019s name came up.<\/p>\n \u201cCareer vs. career or age vs. age?\u201d\u00a0he asked the interviewer to get further clarification about Giannis. \u201cJust right now,\u201d\u00a0they answered. Shaq told them to keep going.<\/p>\n Finally, one name did emerge that forced Shaq to break the stick. The player? Reigning league and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. \u201cHe\u2019s the MVP,\u201d explained<\/a> Shaq.<\/p>\n It makes sense why Shaq continues to give LeBron his props. Last season, James averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game. Those numbers were not just impressive for his age, they were great by any standard, as he finished sixth in the MVP race at the end of the regular season. There\u2019s a chance he does even better next season, since he and Doncic now have some defensive help in Marcus Smart and DeAndre Ayton.<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting that Shaq still thinks LeBron is better than the likes of Luka and Giannis, especially since it contradicts previous comments he made. O\u2019Neal once made a list of the best starting five players currently in the league<\/a>, and LeBron wasn\u2019t on it. Instead, he chose SGA, Giannis, Jalen Williams, Steph Curry, and Nikola Jokic.<\/p>\n Shaq would, of course, argue that a starting lineup and a solo player are two different conversations, so he could still omit LeBron and call him the best in theory. The big man is also known to use tactics like this to motivate younger players to chase the brass ring, so this could be his way of pushing the next generation of superstars to step up their game.<\/p>\n Why James wasn\u2019t as good as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan<\/p>\n This also would not be the first time Shaq ranked LeBron lower than many others would. He once explained on his Big Podcast that the King lacked something\u00a0Kobe Bryant<\/a> and Michael Jordan<\/a> had: intimidation.<\/p>\n