Providing fans with some hot takes is what NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal usually does when he gets a chance. Throughout his career as an analyst, he’s given some takes that turned fans’ heads around. This time, O’Neal has done it again with his take on the 1992 Dream Team.

O’Neal wasn’t part of the Dream Team that took over the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. However, he was part of the second iteration of the Dream Team in 1994, which participated in the FIBA World Cup. That USA team went 8-0 with the big man taking home the MVP award.

But little do fans know that he was considered to be included in the 1992 version of the US team. Had he been selected, the team would’ve boasted a pool of elite big men with O’Neal, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley.

Recently, O’Neal went to his show “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” where he talked about the Dream Team. The former LA Lakers superstar shared that he was almost part of the first iteration of the iconic national team. He also went on to say that the ’94 team can beat the ’92 team.

“Dream Team 2 could’ve beaten Dream Team 1,” Shaq said.

After fans saw this, they were surprised by O’Neal’s claims and had to share their thoughts on social media. Here are some of what the fans had to say.

“Shaq definitely is smoking weed,” Instagram user spiderwoodz commented.


Fans react to Shaq’s Dream Team comments

Fans react to Shaq’s Dream Team comments


Fans react to Shaq’s Dream Team comments

Fans react to Shaq’s Dream Team comments

 

A showdown between the two teams would be perfect to determine which is better. However, it’s been quite a while since everyone from both rosters has been and their bodies probably wouldn’t be up for it. Still, it’s an interesting hypothetical matchup.

Shaquille O’Neal was part of two Dream Teams

During the 1990s, the USA was reclaiming its spot as the best basketball country in the world. Which is why they assembled the most talented collection of stars to bring them back to relevance. At that time, the US basketball program started a trend of having Dream Teams.

Shaquille O’Neal had the pleasure of playing for two iterations of the team. The first was in 1994, while the next one was in 1996. During the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, O’Neal took part in representing his country in basketball.

He was joined by Barkley, Malone, Robinson, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Reggie Miller, Hakeem Olajuwon, Gary Payton, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond and John Stockton. The group had an 8-0 record and took home the gold medal.