Former center Shaquille O’Neal has assured that he is “certain” that the United States team, champions of the last five editions of the Olympic basketball tournament, “will not win gold” at the next Games held in the city from Los Angeles in 2028.
In an interview with the German sports magazine ‘Sport Bild’, the former four-time champion of the North American professional basketball league emphasized that “20 years ago, the United States was ahead of other countries”, but this situation ” has changed” and “Europe is catching up, just behind and close to catching up with the United States.
“LeBron James will no longer play, as well as Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. Joel Embiid may not be there either. Then the supremacy is over. The European teams are really good. Croatia, Serbia and even Germany!”, highlighted the certain won gold in Atlanta 1996.
Asked about the German team, current world champion and executioner of the United States in the 2023 championship, the historic player of the Lakers emphasized that point guard Denis Schröder is “good” and “different from other point guards in the NBA and plays in a very unorthodox way”, using his “own style”. Sometimes he goes to the basket when no one expects him to.
“I also like the Wagner brothers! They play incredibly. Franz and Moritz, they are both great! I hope they never get separated and always play in the same club. Franz is a scorer and Moritz plays hard and is not afraid,” he added .
“Michael Jordan is the best in history”
When asked about his choice in the debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the best player in basketball history, the former MVP of the NBA season chose the Chicago Bulls guard.
“You have to look at different eras. When I was young, Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the benchmarks. When I was in college, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the best. When I got to the NBA , Michael Jordan He dominated Then came Kobe Bryant and LeBron James But for me the greatest of all time is Michael Jordan,” he explained.
When asked about his all-time favorite quintet, ‘Shaq’ chose Michael Jordan himself, his former Los Angeles teammates Kobe Bryant, Julius Earving, Karl Malone and himself.
Regarding his rival during his NBA career, the Dallas Mavericks’ German power forward Dirk Nowitzki, O’Neal praised that, although in his first year in the NBA he “looked a little stagnant and rusty”, he had “so much passion for the sport and he put so much work into it that he became one of the best players in history.
“I used to think that Detlef Schrempf would remain the best German basketball player of all time, but Dirk surpassed him. He was a nice person. He was always nice to talk to,” he concluded.
Source: La Verdad
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