LeBron James Doesn't Need More Rings, NBA Legacy Already Secure: Shaquille O'Neal

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal does not think LeBron James needs to chase further championships as his legacy is already secure.

James saw his losing record in the NBA Finals increase when the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors earlier this month, marking his sixth loss in nine appearances.

The 33-year-old now looks set to depart Cleveland for the second time in his career as he could potentially become a free agent this summer and join a team capable of challenging the Warriors. James has until 11:59 p.m. on June 29 to inform the Cavaliers of his decision, with him having a player option in his current contract.

Five-time champion Kobe Bryant recently claimed James needed more rings to cement his legacy as the number of championships was how he valued the greats of the game.

But four-time NBA champion and former teammate of James and Bryant, O'Neal believes the Akron native should not be greedy like he was, as he failed to win a championship in the last three seasons of his professional career.

"My problem toward the end of my career was I was trying to shut everybody up and I was greedy [for more championships]," O'Neal told ESPN recently. "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."

James is continuing to play at the highest level at 33 years of age and seems to be breaking or passing records with each game. He is notably the only player with 30,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists while next season, he could overtake the likes of Michael Jordan, Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain in scoring.

O'Neal believes the four-time MVP's "book" is already set and that comparisons with Jordan prove he is already a basketball legend.

"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," O'Neal added. "So LeBron's book is already set He done 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."

A major factor why the former Lakers legend is making this argument is the fact that he does not see anyone challenging the Warriors anytime soon.

"Golden State turning themselves into a dynasty is making it hard for other teams to compete, so he's either going to say, 'I want to get four before [the Warriors] get four' and do a quick fix, or Cleveland's going to have to do a lot of phone calls and lot of moves to get him the squad he wants," O'Neal explained "But it's going to be difficult. You have three superstars on one team that actually play the right way. Even with LeBron [on a roster], if you don't play the right way, it doesn't matter."