Shaquille O'Neal is not sold on the hype surrounding Sixers star Joel Embiid and his newly acquired teammate James Harden.
On an episode of his show, 'The Big Podcast,' O'Neal was asked by co-host Anthony 'Spice' Adams whether the big man is ready to crown the duo as the next Kobe and Shaq. O'Neal's answered Adam's question with an emphatic no.
“No,” Shaq responded at the 46:30 mark. His co-host then asked him if the two will ever come close to reaching his and the late great Kobe Bryant's success in the future. O'Neal doubled down, this time, throwing in some jokes for comedic effect.
“Not at all,” Shaq replied. "We won three out of four. No. No. Hell, no. Not after one year. Me and Kobe had eight years of damage together. No, not even close. Stop it. Listen, NO, H NO, and F NO.”
To play devil's advocate here for a second, ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams put out the sentiment that the Hall of Famer would have major headaches trying to guard Embiid, especially if O'Neal had to play D out on the perimeter.
"I think Shaq would have fits trying to guard him," Williams said on his morning radio show 'Keyshawn, J Will, and Max' on March 3rd. "Shaq wouldn’t be able to guard him! I would put him on the perimeter all day long... He was an athlete, but still. I know scouting reports back when he was a young Shaq when they would just string him out on the perimeter coz he had a hard time guarding pick and rolls.”
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While I do agree with Williams' point to a degree, it's hard to imagine Harden and Embiid ever reaching the level of success and acclaim that Kobe and Shaq were able to obtain. While playing on the Lakers together, O’Neal and Bryant won three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002, making their case as one of the most successful and dominant duos in NBA history.
However, let's not downplay what we've seen so far out of Philly's newest duo. Despite having played less than a handful of games together, you can already see the potential there. Embiid and Harden are 5-0 together and look to keep that streak going tonight in a prime-time matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, Harden's former squad.
Kyrie Irving, who is good friends with Harden told reporters Tuesday that "it's nothing but love and peace" since the 10-time All-Stars departure from Brooklyn.
"I wish him nothing but peace and love. We have a great friendship, but it didn't work out," Irving said. "I wish things could have been communicated better for all of us as men, but hey, no hard feelings here with me or anyone else."
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