Richard Jefferson and Shaquille O’Neal are among the NBA’s most well-known legends. While O’Neal is undoubtedly a more significant figure compared to Jefferson, both are respectable players in their own right.
Throughout their career, Jefferson and O’Neal never had the opportunity to play together as teammates. However, they were still able to establish a friendship off the court, especially when both legends became analysts in their post-basketball careers. True enough, Jefferson had the audacity to troll O’Neal in a recent episode of “NBA on ESPN” while he was praising Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Richard Jefferson Indirectly Claims Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is Better Than Shaquille O’Neal
Jefferson recently went on air to make some bold statements about Oklahoma City Thunder star Gilgeous-Alexander. The former NBA star shockingly compared SGA to legends like Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.
This was simply because of the feat Gilgeous-Alexander has recently accomplished in his career. The Thunder star is now the third NBA player in history to average at least 30.0 points per game while shooting at least 50% from the field in four straight seasons. The only other players to do that were Jordan and Chamberlain.
Before bringing up that comparison, Jefferson felt the need to point out how Gilgeous-Alexander has already outclassed other legends like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry, just to name a few.
Another legend Jefferson brought up was O’Neal. While others might view Jefferson’s comparison to an NBA great like O’Neal as a sign of respect, the Big Diesel has never averaged 30.0 points while shooting at 50% overall.
To make matters funnier, O’Neal was the only example that never achieved SGA’s numbers. Jefferson threw in other names like Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant, who both did it on multiple occasions.
“Do you know how many people average 30 points a game in their career? Very few. Shaq did it zero times,” Jefferson hilariously brought up. “D-Wade, the monster, one. Dominique Wilkins, two times. Kobe, three. Shai has more than all of them.”
“What Shai is doing is unheard of.” ⭐️@Rjeff24 shares high praise for Thunder’s guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, even putting him in the same category as Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain 👀 pic.twitter.com/T71VCM8hCK
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 5, 2026
While Jefferson’s take may be deemed as a hot one, there is some truth behind his comparisons. Last year, Gilgeous-Alexander made history after becoming the 15th NBA player to win the regular-season MVP award and the NBA championship in the same season. He is also the 11th to win both regular-season MVP and Finals MVP in the same year.
Given how the Thunder are currently in first place in the Western Conference, and Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the MVP race, there’s a slight chance he could’ve pulled off the same feat this season. SGA would then become the first player since LeBron James to do it in back-to-back seasons.
