Lakers Or Warriors? LeBron Or MJ? Shaquille O'Neal Has His Say

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal feels his Los Angeles Lakers team would "easily" beat today's Golden State Warriors if they were playing in the same era.

O'Neal along with Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to a threepeat from 2000 to 2002 with the dominant Phil Jackson-managed team considered as one of the greatest of all time.

The current Warriors team led by Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant can also be considered as one of the greatest teams in history as they look to become the first side since the Lakers to achieve a threepeat this season, which is certainly not out of the realms of possibility. However, if the two sides were to meet in their primes, O'Neal only sees one winner.

"I think we'd easily win," O'Neal told USA TODAY Sports. "Other people might feel different, they (the Warriors) might feel different. But we had one of the best teams of all-time in 2001 when we went 15-1 in the playoffs. We would've gone 16-0 but A.I. [Allen Iverson] went off on us and stepped over (former Laker) Ty Lue."

While the Lakers were certainly dominant in 2001 (the first round of the playoffs at the time being a best-of-five rather than a best-of-seven compared to today) with a 15-1 record, the Warriors notably went 16-1 in the 2017 playoffs -- both records are the best in NBA postseason history. So O'Neal's logic could also work in Golden State's favor.

The 46-year-old also spoke of the age-old debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. While many feel "MJ" is the greatest of all time, some believe James is slowly eclipsing him. For O'Neal, it's hard to compare the two.

"We're talking about two different eras," O'Neal explained. "Jordan averaged 30 points when people could beat you up. The game was more physical. In this era, I'd average 45 (points a game) without free throws. Jordan ruled the 90s. Me and Kobe did the 2000s and LeBron's doing his thing now. Numbers-wise, yeah, I guess you could say he's up there with Jordan."

It's not the first time O'Neal has commented on the debate. Earlier in the summer, he felt being compared to Jordan was enough for the 33-year-old's legacy.

"Somebody told me a long time ago — they said your book is already set [before the later stages of your career]," O'Neal said at the time. "You can add index pages toward the end, but your book is already set. So LeBron's book is already set. He done already passed up legends; he done already made his mark — he has three rings."

"... He's a legend, talked about as who is the best between he and Michael Jordan, so he's set," he added.

With James on his old team now, O'Neal believes the Lakers, currently 17-10, can contend for championships even though the team has been "hard to figure out" this season.

"They're definitely hard to figure out," O'Neal said. "The world knows what can happen when you put good players around LeBron. The whole idea of patience only applies if you haven't won (a championship). When you're LeBron and you've been to eight Finals appearances in a row, you haven't got time for much patience."

"After I got my first one, I was like, 'You know what, let me get another one.' When you're on the top of Mount Everest, you don't want to go back down," he added.