Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal as teammates.

[Jordan Stopper]

It's a lot more reasonable to get mad when your teammate is young, and has poor shot selection. MJ didn't suffer from poor shot selection, it's a lot easier to swallow being frozen out of a play by the greatest scorer of all time, as opposed to a guy that wants to take heat check long jumpers and 3's, and try to be the hero when he's a lot less efficient than you are overall.

Kobe and Shaq butted heads mainly because Kobe didn't respect Shaq.

Kobe was taking those shots because he felt he had earned it through the hours he was putting in the gym.

[prophet_of_rage]

MJ would have bullied Shaq into being a killer and then deferred to him on the court with Jackson counseling them. Shaq might break Jordan in practice like Cartwright did.

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[Jeff Van Gully]

Jordan is the ultimate alpha. Shaq would have to fall in line. Don't see it working for more than a season.

i see this point. shaq and kobe couldn't make it work. but the dynamic would be different in some key ways.

1. jordan is older and had already been a champion and considered the best player in the game by the time shaq was drafted. kobe was a young player coming into his own and asserting himself.

2. jordan already had full control of that team to the point that his reach extended to other teams' personnel decisions (cough knicks).

3. the structure was set and shaq would have come into a triangle offense that was already a well oiled machine. i mean... if this team still has scottie handling the ball and facilitating too... flawless. they'd have been completely indefensible AND the best defensive team in the league. only injury or boredom could stop that group.

yes. and then...

[lakerz12]

i see this point. shaq and kobe couldn't make it work. but the dynamic would be different in some key ways.

1. jordan is older and had already been a champion and considered the best player in the game by the time shaq was drafted. kobe was a young player coming into his own and asserting himself.

2. jordan already had full control of that team to the point that his reach extended to other teams' personnel decisions (cough knicks).

3. the structure was set and shaq would have come into a triangle offense that was already a well oiled machine. i mean... if this team still has scottie handling the ball and facilitating too... flawless. they'd have been completely indefensible AND the best defensive team in the league. only injury or boredom could stop that group.

yes. and then...

And then what?

There have been what, 5 three-peats in the entire history of the NBA?

Kobe/Shaq accomplished what only a few others ever have together ... to suggest their time together was anything but a wild success is just to deny history.

To be remotely consistent you'd have to start by saying Lebron/Wade/Bosh couldn't make it work. And Curry/KD couldn't make it work.

[Stadium5]

Unbeatable and would destroy any team ever made

MJ was Shaq's elder unlike Kobe. I'm assuming MJ would have kept Shaq in line and in shape better than Kobe could have

[TheGOATRises007]

Would break the league more than the Warriors.

[Jeff Van Gully]

yes. and then...

And then what?

There have been what, 5 three-peats in the entire history of the NBA?

Kobe/Shaq accomplished what only a few others ever have together ... to suggest their time together was anything but a wild success is just to deny history.

To be remotely consistent you'd have to start by saying Lebron/Wade/Bosh couldn't make it work. And Curry/KD couldn't make it work.

homie... we are speaking relatively. the whole point of this discourse right now is that shaq and kobe couldn't keep it going for whatever reason. i spoke to why not only shaq and jordan would have been better, but why they likely would have kept it together.

no one's suggesting the lakers didn't do what they did or that it wasn't a great feat. but surely as a laker fan you could imagine a couple more of those titles had they not had their personal issues. both shaq and kobe have addressed this and would agree.

[Optms]

homie... we are speaking relatively. the whole point of this discourse right now is that shaq and kobe couldn't keep it going for whatever reason. i spoke to why not only shaq and jordan would have been better, but why they likely would have kept it together.

no one's suggesting the lakers didn't do what they did or that it wasn't a great feat. but surely as a laker fan you could imagine a couple more of those titles had they not had their personal issues. both shaq and kobe have addressed this and would agree.

We do know the reasons though.

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

Shaq did things his way. And if that angered Kobe, why would Jordan be okay with it? Considering he was even more obsessed with preparation than Kobe was. If Kobe and Shaq were like oil and water, Jordan and Shaq would be like water and fire. It could never happen, IMO.

[dlts20]

MJ is probably the only player ever who Shaq would submit to in terms of being the teams alpha. Literally no other player in history would make Shaq do this

[J___Av]

It would be Kobe/Shaq on steroids. Only issue is Shaq can be a big baby at times and Jordan would go at him hard for being lazy

[His Airness 23]

In 8 seasons, Shaq & Kobe won 3 titles.
If given 8 seasons of MJ & Shaq, they’d win 7-8 titles

[J___Av]

Jordan is the ultimate alpha. Shaq would have to fall in line. Don't see it working for more than a season.

If 2002 Lakers drafted MJ, then I don't know, I would see they have a lot of the same problems Shaq and Kobe had.

Maybe but Jordan is not Kobe. He was always a leader and alpha straight out of college. On the court he would be much less frustrating for Shaq to play with because he is smarter and makes way better choices than Kobe. Off the court is tricky. Jordan is MUCH more vocal and tougher on his teammates than really any player ever. Shaq may respect that, or he may lose his mind when Jordan starts screaming at him in practice for being lazy

[J___Av]

*assuming both come into the league at roughly the same time*

They will win a lot, obviously, because they are great players. But anyone who thinks they wouldn't have the same issues Kobe/Shaq did is being naive. MJ was a shoot-first player who was never taking a back seat to anyone. And Shaq likes to be fed-first. MJ had no tolerance for laziness and Shaq hates being overshadowed by anyone. Shaq would've resented MJ for his shooting, his popularity and pouted about it both behind the scenes and in the media. MJ wasn't going to put up with that from a guy who didn't work hard. Like Shaq/Kobe, MJ/Shaq would've eventually led to a split too.

Jordan would almost never force his shot if it was not falling. I think that was his biggest issue with Kobe. Jordan on the court would be MUCH less frustrating to play with for Shaq than Kobe was. Jordan was much better at letting his teammates get theirs than Kobe ever was

[AMW27]

It's quite possible that one of them would be traded midway through the season during their first year as teammates. Lolol.

That's how bad it probably would be.

[AMW27]

I was thinking how would MJ react if Shaq were to have delayed surgery and "heal on company time."

[LKN]

If we stick with the real timeline Shaq joins the Bulls in 92-93... if that happened MJ might not ever retire and the Bulls probably win every title for the rest of the decade (and MJ might have stock around a few more years after 98).

I think personality wise the match would have worked quite a bit better than the Shaq/Kobe match

[AMW27]

I think if Shaq was drafted to the Bulls in 1992 then it would've worked out for several years before both Jordan's and Shaq's egos clashed.

But if both guys were both the alphas on their own teams without ever winning a title, putting them on the same team probably doesnt work. Putting both on the same team after both were the alpha on multiple title teams most likely wouldn't have worked. Doesn't matter who the coach was.

[DirtyDez]

I don’t recall Shaq ripping Kobe publicly before Kobe dimed him out for paying off hookers and what not. Jordan would probably challenge him face to face about getting his fat arse in shape and playing hard.

[Black Jack]

MJ would have bullied Shaq into being a killer and then deferred to him on the court with Jackson counseling them. Shaq might break Jordan in practice like Cartwright did.

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Uh, Cartwright was one guy Jordan couldn't ultimately bully, source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1991/12/15/with-cartwright-jordan-looks-other-way/b04f3fe7-7f58-41a1-8ebe-f9dd669b6f4d/

Eventually, though, word got back to Cartwright. He didn't do or say anything to anybody until late that season, when he told Jordan he needed to talk to him.

There was little small talk exchanged. "I don't like the things I've heard you say about me," Cartwright told Jordan.

Jordan stared at him.

"If I ever hear again that you're telling guys not to pass me the ball," Cartwright continued, "you will never play basketball again."

anyway on Shaq + MJ obviously it would be dynamite but I feel like Jordan would eventually get tired of Shaq's laziness. And I don't think peak arrogant Shaq would listen to even Jordan about not engaging in Roman Senator level debauchery in his offseasons.

I know everyone likes to think MJ was more "alpha" than Kobe but they had the same basic approach of being ultra competitive ALL THE TIME. Shaq did not.

[Lalouie]

How do you think this pairing would work out?

I believe it could be just like the Shaq/Kobe pairing. It's a possibility that it could Be even worser than the Shaq/Kobe pairing. Neither one of then would probably be willing to be robin just even for one season.

What does everyone else think?

maybe mj would have driven shaq away,,,,,quicker