LeBron James is set to become a free-agent this summer, and will most likely look to join a team that gives him the best chance to win additional NBA championships. But according to Hall of Famer and current NBA on TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal, James is already a legend and shouldn’t chase more NBA championship.
“Somebody told me a long time ago — they said your book is already set [before the later stages of your career]. You can add index pages toward the end, but your book is already set. So LeBron’s book is already set,” – O’Neal told ESPN. “He did already passed up legends; he done already made his mark — he has three rings. His mentality now is probably: I want to get four before [Golden State Warriors guard] Steph [Curry] does. That’s probably his mentality now. But if I was him, I wouldn’t be trying to get four, five and six because it ain’t going to matter. It’s just something else to talk about, something else to add to the pages. He’s a legend, talked about as who is the best between he and Michael Jordan, so he’s set.“
Shaquille O’Neal then described how he was chasing championships late in his career and that it didn’t turn out so great.
“My problem toward the end of my career was I was trying to shut everybody up and I was greedy [for more championships],” – he explained. “After I got to three [titles], everybody was saying I couldn’t get another. So I got four. After I got the fourth, they were saying I couldn’t get another one. So I was trying to make quick stops to get it. Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston.“
Despite being the best basketball player in the world in more than 10 years, LeBron James only managed to get three NBA titles from nine trips to the finals. He won two with the Miami Heat and one with Cleveland Cavaliers.
