Shaquille O’Neal is not buying the idea that LeBron James should feel singled out by Lakers fans.
On a recent appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, O’Neal said he understands what it’s like to wear purple and gold and still feel the crowd’s loyalty split elsewhere. He pointed straight to Kobe Bryant as the reason.
“They didn’t love me, they loved Kobe… This is what we call the B.O.B brother, the business of basketball,” O’Neal said.
He added, “You know when I’m in charge, I’m a difficult man to deal with. The thing has to be done my way, and sometimes people don’t agree with that.
So when they get you out of there, it’s like ha-ha! So I can kind of understand what was said.”
That comment came as reports have circulated that James left the Lakers in free agency in part because he felt disrespected by the franchise and its fanbase. O’Neal’s message was simple: he doesn’t think James deserves the heat.
The Lakers legend was drawing a line between his own exit and James’ situation. In his view, both stars ended up handing the team over to the next face of the franchise. O’Neal framed it as him passing the torch to Kobe Bryant, while James has now done the same with Luka Doncic.
The comparison is not exact, though. O’Neal spent eight seasons with the Lakers and put up huge numbers, but Bryant stayed loyal to the franchise and won five championships, two more than O’Neal. That helps explain why some fans naturally leaned harder toward Kobe.
Still, O’Neal’s own run in Los Angeles was massive. He won three championships, took home Finals MVP in all three title runs, and added a regular season MVP. Across 636 combined regular-season and playoff games with the Lakers, he averaged 27.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
James’ Lakers numbers are strong too, but the resume is different. Over 542 games in the regular season and playoffs combined, he averaged 25.9 points, 7.9 assists, and 7.8 rebounds. He won one championship and was Finals MVP for that title.
O’Neal also made it clear that Lakers fans did not necessarily stop loving him just because he eventually left. Fans, he said, were heartbroken when he departed and later wore Celtics green before retirement. His point was that reactions to a player’s exit can shape how people talk about that player afterward, even if the affection was real while he was in Los Angeles.
The other major topic O’Neal touched on was James’ place in the record book.
On the latest episode of the Big Podcast, O’Neal said people are not fully appreciating what James is doing and made a big call about where the scoring total could land.
“I think everybody’s overall not seeing what LeBron is really doing… So, think about it. So, when I was playing, and I had 2,000 points, and you look up at that 38,000 from Kareem. You’re like, “Damn.”
“Bron got 45,000 points right now. That man is going to end up with 53,000 points.
This s-t is never going to be broken again, ever. Your a- is going to be dead.
I’m going to be dead. We’re all going to be dead.”
“And the only guy that’s going to get close to us is when they change the game in 2096 where they have four pointers and five pointers and half-court shots work 20 points. That man is gonna have 53,000,” O’Neal concluded.
Using the source’s post-2025-26 numbers, James has 43,440 regular-season points and 51,961 points when the playoffs are included. If O’Neal meant regular-season scoring, James would need about 9,560 more points to get there over the next two seasons, which the source says is impossible. If he meant total career points including the playoffs, James would need 1,039 more to reach the mark over the next two or more seasons.
The source’s view is that James should clear that total comfortably and could even finish with 54,000 points or more. How quickly that happens will depend on what role he plays in the offense.
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