“My Feelings Were Not Hurt…”: Lakers Legend Shaquille O’Neal Snubs Beef Rumors Between LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal cleared out the air on the rumors of LeBron James having beef with NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. On his podcast, ‘The Big Podcast With Shaq,’ O’Neal gave his views on the situation between James and Abdul-Jabbar and what it means for them moving forward. 

LeBron James is set to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the all-time scoring list, becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.  In an interview, James was asked to shed some light on his relationship with Abdul-Jabbar. And James kept the answer short and concise. 

Shaquille O’Neal backs up LeBron James

And LeBron’s response seemed a bit dismissive to host co-host Nischelle Turner while talking about it on the podcast. When asked if LeBron James had any thoughts on Abdul-Jabbar or whether he had any relationship with him, he said, “No thoughts, and no relationship.”

And even though Turner thought LeBron James came off a bit disrespectful, Shaq did not agree with it. Shaq mentioned that even after playing for eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers, he did not interact much with the six-time NBA champion.

The Big Aristotle pointed out that Abdul-Jabbar did not call him much during his time with the Lakers, however, he did criticize him on several occasions according to Shaq. Although he went on to mention that whatever beef there was between him and Abdul-Jabbar is now in the past.

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Shaq said, “By the way me and Kareem, we met three-four years ago. We’re good now.” He also added that: “To go on record, my feelings were not hurt that I didn’t have a relationship with Kareem.”

Shaq told Turner and Spice Adams that not having a relationship with Abdul-Jabbar motivated him. Shaq did not feel as if he got enough recognition from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He added, “Okay, you don’t recognize me, I’m going to make you recognize me.”

Abdul-Jabbar criticizes LeBron

Shaq highlighted the fact that Abdul-Jabbar has also criticized James in the past. In 2021 on his YouTube channel, Abdul-Jabbar spoke out on LeBron’s celebration, for which he was subsequebtly fined by the NBA. Abdul-Jabbar said, “Why do you need to do a stupid childish dance and disrespect the other team on the court?” 

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Shaquille O’Neal felt that James was just being truthful instead of being disrespectful. And if Shaq were in LeBron’s shoes, he would’ve likely been the same way. 

What do you think of Shaq’s comments on LeBron James? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.