Shaq Is ‘Not Shut’ To Being Prepared To Crown Embiid-Harden The Subsequent Shaq-Kobe

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The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets sq. off in a closely anticipated matchup on Thursday night, with James Harden dealing with his previous crew for the primary time and Ben Simmons anticipated to be on the Brooklyn bench at Wells Fargo Heart. Past the magnitude of the occasion itself, the sport is an intriguing check for each the Sixers and Nets on the ground. Particularly, Harden and Joel Embiid have put collectively a really robust begin to their shared tenure on the helm in Philadelphia, to the purpose the place some fairly lofty comparisons are being tossed round.

One such comparability is to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant from the early 2000’s Los Angeles Lakers, and Shaq was requested about that parallel in podcast kind this week.

“No. Not even shut. Cease it.”@SHAQ’s response after he was requested if Harden & Embiid could possibly be the subsequent Shaq & Kobe #TheBigPodcast | https://t.co/DtAgIXzXwx pic.twitter.com/1jfGrwbc5n

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 10, 2022

Whereas he did say that Embiid and Harden have been within the “honeymoon section” of their relationship, Shaq left little doubt on the particular comparability, not less than for now.

“No,” Shaq mentioned when requested if Embiid and Harden could possibly be “topped” as the subsequent Shaq and Kobe. “Me and Kobe had eight years of harm collectively. No, not even shut. N-O. H-No. And F-No. Determine it out.”

That is clearly the right reply, particularly with Harden and Embiid taking part in for lower than a month collectively. Whereas each have achieved lofty heights, neither at the moment venture as top-15 gamers all-time and, in brief, that’s the block on which Shaq and Kobe reside in basketball historical past. There shall be time for Embiid and Harden to carve out a shared legacy if they’ll obtain lofty success, however this sentiment is one thing you need to most likely count on to listen to from Shaq for some time, particularly if the Sixers don’t convey the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Philadelphia this season.