Who is the greatest basketball player of all time? This question has been asked a million times, and every great player has gotten the opportunity to be mentioned. Many people believe it is Michael Jordan. Some believe LeBron James has taken the title. On TNT the other night, however, Shaquille O’Neal brought a new name to the debate table. After Stephen Curry’s dominant performance against the Knicks in MSG, O’Neal “demanded” that Curry be added to the GOAT conversation. Shaq’s Curry quote has certainly sparked debate in NBA circles, but is there some validity to it?
Shaq Believes Steph Curry Deserves GOAT Consideration
Shaq’s Curry Love Goes Above and Beyond
Shaq has always loved Curry. It seems like every chance he gets he tries to give him his much-deserved flowers. He was chosen to Shaq’s team in this year’s All-Star draft and repaid his GM with an All-Star Game MVP. Shaq had previously said on Angel Reese’s podcast “You know why I love Steph Curry? … If you look at Steph on the street, he doesn’t have the LeBron muscle…he looks like a normal office guy. But he’s doing stuff that we’ve never seen before.”
This is part of why Curry captured the world with his play. He is humble, unassuming, and above all, smaller than almost everyone he shares the court with. There is something about Curry not having a superhuman body, like most of the NBA, that makes his dominance so legendary.
Curry Dominates in MSG
“At some point we’re gonna have to put Steph Curry in that category”
Shaq after Steph Curry puts on another show at MSG
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/Cens6BqmgB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 5, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
On Tuesday night, Curry added to his legend with another big win in Madison Square Garden. Although Curry only had 28 points, he added nine assists and seven rebounds to his stats sheet and continued his near-perfect recent record against the Knicks in MSG. Curry is 12-1 against the Knicks in MSG and hasn’t lost in that building in over 12 years.
Shaq Demands Curry Be Added to the GOAT Conversation
This sparked Shaq to praise Curry on another level.
Shaq said, “I played against Mike, played with Kobe, played against and with LeBron. They’re all great… But at some point, we’re going to have to put Steph Curry in that category… I ain’t never seen nothing like that before, and nobody has. And how many [rings] he got? One, two, three, four, against LeBron. I demand that people start putting my guy in that conversation, period.”
Shaq certainly has a point. If LeBron is your GOAT then shouldn’t he have more championships than Curry? Curry has the same amount of rings as James, in fewer years, with less future hall-of-fame teammates, and all on one team. That definitely can spark debate.
On top of that, Curry completely changed the game. This is part of why Shaq may have so much reverence for him. Both Shaq and Curry completely changed the game with their dominance. Rules were changed, along with playing styles, and strategies. All just to adjust to their supremacy.
Curry probably won’t get six championships like Jordan. By raw counting numbers, he will likely never be able to compete with James. However, the dominance of his era and the fact that he completely changed the way basketball is played needs to be recognized. So Shaq is right, put Curry in the GOAT conversation now.
Photo credit: © Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The post Shaq Believes This NBA Star Deserves GOAT Consideration appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.