Shaquille O’Neal: LeBron Is The Best Player In The League

Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal went on FS1’s “First Things First, and talked about the Lakers and LeBron James.

At the beginning of his discussion, Shaquille talked about Kawhi Leonard and his role in the NBA Finals. The Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors, and Leonard led the team to a victory. Shad admired Leonard and his quiet nature, but he still believes that LeBron James is the best player these days.

“He plays the right way,” Shaq said of Leonard. “When a call doesn’t go his way, he never makes a face. He never complains. He’s not a guy who’s very flamboyant. He’s not gonna do a lot of things. He’s got an old school/new school game — just one or two dribbles and he gets to his spot.

“I’d say he’s probably top three,” Shaq added, referring to Leonard. “I don’t like to say who’s the best player — well, LeBron is the best player in the league, but (Kevin Durant) is a very close second. And then you have Kawhi.”

LeBron has been considered a top player in the past decade or even longer. In the middle of the season, he suffered a groin injury that kept him out of the field for 17 consecutive games. The king recovered but the Lakers lost the last bit of chemistry they had on the floor. The young players lost themselves completely. The Anthony Davis saga made things even worse.

LeBron missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 season. He missed so many games but had some good numbers, too. He played 55 games and averaged 27.4 points on 51.0 percent shooting from the field. And 33.9 percent from beyond the arc, 8.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 35.2 minutes per outing.

Anthony Davis is part of the team now, and he will be of great help for the Lakers.

The team will try to add another All-Star to the roster. They have been linked to Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving and many others. Let’s see what happens this summer. Things are getting really hot.