Shaquille O’Neal tipped his hat to Patrick Mahomes for favoring him over Nikola Jokic and other great European players in NBA history. The Lakers legend shared a Kansas City Chiefs’ reel on his Instagram story.
In the reel, Mahomes is asked to choose his favorite between two NBA players. The Chiefs’ quarterback was presented with a tough choice at the very beginning of the video. He was asked to choose between a prime Shaquille O’Neal and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
The star quarterback chose Shaq in the first question over Jokic. He was then presented with a choice between the Lakers legend and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Mahomes chose Shaq again as his preferred choice.
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Next, he was asked to choose between O’Neal and Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki. Mahomes went for Shaq again. However, in the next turn, the star quarterback abandoned Shaq when asked to choose between the Lakers legend and future Hall of Famer, Kevin Durant.
After making his choice, Mahomes explained his decision in the video. He said that Durant’s longevity was the differentiating factor influencing his choice. Later, the star quarterback chose Steph Curry over Durant, then Kobe Bryant over Curry, the LeBron James over Bryant. However, he refused to comment when asked to choose between James and Michael Jordan.
Shaquille O’Neal once wanted to face Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in a two-on-two game
Shaquille O’Neal is arguably the most dominant basketball player who has ever walked on NBA hardwood. In his prime, the Lakers legend was a dominant force in the paint who was practically unstoppable because of his huge build.
Shaq looked like a basketball player with the build of an NFL player. In 2023, the Lakers legend and Patrick Mahomes shared an exchange that could have led to a star-studded two-on-two basketball game.
The exchange happened during a TNT interview with the Chiefs’ quarterback. Mahomes had revealed that he was healing well from an ankle injury and joked about working on his jump shot. Shaq took that as a challenge and invited the star quarterback to a two-on-two game.
“I see what you did,” Shaq said. “You told us about your jump shot. So that means you and Travis are challenging me and Kenny.” (Timestamp: 3:32)
Mahomes then suggested that they compete in free throws, which is ironic, given that Shaquille O’Neal has never been a great free-throw shooter in his career. The friendly banter ended when Charles Barkley stepped into the conversation and cracked a fat joke on the Lakers legend.
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Edited by Avi Shravan
