Shaq Names Kobe Bryant to His All-Time Starting 5 and Lists His Greatest NBA Players

Unlike another NBA legend, Shaquille O'Neal didn't omit LeBron James from his list of the greatest ever to step onto the hardwood.

The Hall of Fame center told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times he'd put James alongside himself, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in his preferred starting five.

Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Karl Malone and Isiah Thomas rounded out O'Neal's top-10 list. He included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on his second team to make it a "top 11."

This comes after Julius Erving set social media abuzz by leaving James and Curry off his all-time ballot. He justified the call by saying the pair are still active players.

O'Neal declined to weigh in on Erving's opinion.

"Hey, man, I got no problem with Dr. J's list," he said. "He's the great Dr. J. He paved the way for all of us. He can say what he wants and nobody should say a damn thing about it."

Including Bryant was another way Shaq differed from the four-time MVP, but that was to be expected when he and Kobe formed the most dominant duo of their era.

The Los Angeles Lakers won three straight titles with O'Neal and Bryant leading the way. The 2000-01 Lakers went 15-1 during their NBA Finals run, putting them into rarefied air.

Bryant went on to capture two more championships after O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, further cementing his legacy.