Rare Video Emerges of LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal Almost Teaming Up for Jay Z’s Side To Face Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and More

The NBA has witnessed some iconic matchups. Michael Jordan vs Magic Johnson, LeBron James vs Kobe Bryant, and LeBron vs Stephen Curry. These legendary players have given us some unbelievable moments. But one of the greatest games which never happened featured LeBron and Shaquille O’Neal playing for Jay-Z’s team and matching up against Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.

Back in the early 200s, the Rucker Park games were a huge deal. The best street hoopers got a chance to play with the NBA pros and many entertainers started to recruit them to their teams. It went up a notch when Jay Z started a team and he was fully involved with the street circuit.

And a rivalry was born when Jay Z took some players of Fat Joe to his own team. Both teams had excellent players that year and were on a collision course to meet in the championship. The two artists even canceled their tours to come to watch their team play.

LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal were about to face off against Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony

The date of the matchup was set for August 14th, 2003. The EBC allowed teams to make any amount of roster additions and this let Joe and Jay Z call in some big names. Jay Z called in the number 1 pick of the 2003 NBA draft, LeBron James, to play for his side. He also called up NBA superstars Shaquille O’Neal and Tracy McGrady.

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Fat Joe wasn’t too shabby as he got Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, and Chris Webber. Both the team owners and the players were hyped to play this game and they talked smack to each other on the phone and radio.

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The fans were also excited to see the two teams play with some heavy matchups. Unfortunately, though, the infamous blackout happened. Still, they wanted to play as people tried to line up their cars for lighting. But the police shut down the game.

The game was then rescheduled for Monday, but Jay Z and most of his star-studded team couldn’t make it. The refs waited, and they eventually called it a forfeit. Had the blackout not happened, we could have gotten to see one of the biggest games ever in basketball history.