LeBron James’ next move is still up in the air, but Shaquille O’Neal already has a pretty clear idea of where he thinks the Lakers star should land.
Three weeks after James announced his exit from Los Angeles, he still hasn’t chosen the team for what will be his 24th NBA season. At age 42, this next stop could easily be the last one of his career, which makes the decision feel bigger than a normal free-agency swing. Shaq’s read on it is simple: James should go where he has the best chance to win another ring.
“Knowing LeBron, he’s going to go somewhere he can win another ring,” Shaq said in a recent interview with Extra. “Miami, Golden State, maybe even Philly.
What we realize toward the ends of our careers, once we’re done we can never play again. You never wanna retire and say, ‘I shoulda did this, I shoulda done that.’
He still has two, three years I think.
“... A lot of these haters call it ring-chasing.
But yeah, you’re supposed to be chasing rings, because if you chase rings and you accomplish getting rings, that’s what we call greatness. Those who haven’t achieved greatness call it ring-chasing because they haven’t achieved greatness.”
Shaq also suggested the Lakers had already decided it was time to move in a younger direction, and that James’ exit was more of a business decision than a dramatic breakup.
“Listen, in the business of basketball, the franchise is always going to do what’s best for them,” continued Shaq. “They wanted to go a bit younger, and everybody knows when LeBron is on the team he pretty much has control of who, what, how, when. So they wanted to part ways.”
The former Lakers center said he “wouldn’t mind” seeing James return to Cleveland, the place many fans believe could be the final stop in his career.
“Start it in Cleveland, end it in Cleveland. That’ll be a historical way to close the chapter of your career,” he said.
The list of possible landing spots has already narrowed to a handful of teams: the Cavaliers, Heat, 76ers, Warriors and Timberwolves. Rich Paul has already said James has a realistic path to contend for a title with any of them, and there are also a few sleeper teams still in the mix.
There’s an obvious reason Shaq’s opinion carries weight here. He and James both spent eight years with the Lakers, the longest single-team run of their careers.
But the similarities end there. Shaq left Los Angeles at 31; James is now staring at the back end of his playing days after his split with the franchise.
If James is truly focused on chasing another championship - and Paul has said money is not the driving factor - then the choice matters even more.
Shaq knows that better than most. He won three straight titles with the Lakers from 1999 to ‘01, then asked for a trade after the ‘03 season amid a mix of factors, including reported tension and ego clashes with Kobe Bryant. The Lakers were also more willing to move forward with Bryant as their centerpiece, much like they later named Luka Dončić the new face of the organization.
But Shaq has been clear that the real issue for him was money.
“The reason I got traded, it wasn’t about me and Kobe beef. It was because they [the Lakers] wanted me to take less money.
I’m not doing that,” Shaq said in a 2021 interview with All The Smoke. “I just should’ve been like [to Bryant], ‘Alright, I raise you enough.
It’s your team now.’ I know what I’m gonna do.
I’m still gonna do my 28 [points] 10 [rebounds]. I was like, ‘Nah, I want $150 [million].’
“If I had to do it all again, I probably would’ve had a meeting with the family. ‘Want me to take less money, take a lesser role, stay here or you still want me to be Shaq?’
It’s that ego. The ego still got me what I want, I still went to Miami, Pat [Riley] took care of me and I still won one [NBA championship].
But I would’ve liked to have stayed there [with the Lakers] the rest of my career.”
The Lakers eventually sent Shaq to Miami, where he picked up his fourth and final championship in his second season with the Heat. He played a few more years after that, but a lingering Achilles injury brought his career to an end in 2011.
James paid tribute when that retirement news broke, tweeting: “What a career for Shaq Diesel!! The most dominating force to ever play the game.
Great person to be around as well. Comedy all the time!!”
Now Shaq may get the chance to return the favor, once James settles on his next team and tries to chase down a fifth title.
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