Shaq Says His Lakers Teams Would 'Easily' Beat Warriors
The endless debate about which old school NBA teams would beat this version of the Golden State Warriors is not slowing anytime soon, and Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal thinks his teams that won three straight championship earlier this century would handle the current Warriors dynasty.
Last year, Rasheed Wallace said his 2004 Pistons that upset O'Neal's Lakers in the Finals would beat the Warriors.
Even Las Vegas got in on the act, saying last season's championship Warriors team would be favored over the 1996 Chicago Bulls team, which won a then-record 72 games in the regular season.
"I think we'd easily win," O'Neal told USA Today. "Other people might feel different, they (the Warriors) might feel different. But we had one of the best teams of all-time in 2001 when we went 15-1 in the playoffs.
We would've gone 16-0 but A.I. (Hall of famer Allen Iverson) went off on us and stepped over (former Laker) Ty Lue."
That 2000–01 Lakers squad with O'Neal and Kobe Bryant made quick work of the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Playoffs, before losing Game 1 of the Finals to the Philadelphia 76ers. Los Angeles won each of the next four games to win their second straight title.
O'Neal was named the Finals MVP after averaging 33 points, 15.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the series.
