SAN ANTONIO — Shaquille O’Neal won four championships and an MVP Award over his 19 seasons in the NBA, and has since studied it closely as an analyst.
So whom would he select if he were a general manager and could choose any player — past or present — with the No. 1 pick?
“Me,” O’Neal told The Post.
Excluding himself?
“I’d probably go with [LeBron James] because Bron — and I know this is a Kobe [Bryant] comparison — Bron had it when he came in,” O’Neal told The Post. “It took Kobe two or three years to get it. Bron had it when he came in, so I’d probably go with Bron.”
You know who else has it too?
Victor Wembanyama, who has reached the NBA Finals in his third season, faster than many of the all-time greats, including James, Bryant and Michael Jordan.
This postseason Wembanyama has seemingly quieted any talk about who’s the next face of the league, if he hasn’t already snatched that ceremonial title from James, who has held it for two decades.
Or has he?
“You have to take it,” O’Neal told The Post. “If he wins a championship, yes. If [Jalen] Brunson wins a championship, it’ll be Brunson. Face of the league ain’t something you pass on. You’ve got to go take it.”
After blowing a 29-point lead to the Knicks in a 107-106 loss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the Spurs trail the series, 3-1.
Wembanyama is averaging 27.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.2 blocks over the past four games. Brunson is averaging 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Brunson has skyrocketed into the national consciousness this postseason after barely being a blip on the radar.
Knicks coach Mike Brown hopes the world will now see what New York has known.
“He definitely has not — or did not — get the attention that he deserved during the regular season,” Brown said. “I think he’s a top-three MVP candidate. And when it comes down to those things, his name wasn’t mentioned much.”
Meanwhile, Wembanyama won Defensive Player of the Year and finished third in MVP voting.
Regardless of whether this is Wembanyama’s time to claim the league’s ultimate throne, there’s no doubt that the 22-year-old will become an all-time great if he stays healthy.
He was the most highly touted prospect since James entered the league in 2003, and he has already blown past his expectations. He’s able to patrol the paint with his size and agility, while also being able to shoot from anywhere on the court. He’s unlike anyone the league has seen.
He’s an alien.
So, how would he have matched up against The Big Aristotle?
“Oh, stop it,” O’Neal told The Post, flashing a smile. “Let’s talk desserts. He’s too light in the cakes for me. Stop it. But I’m not known for defense, so he probably would’ve scored a few points also. There’s no guarding me one-on-one, so you can’t ask me that question. He’s a great player. This is his time now. This is not about me.”
O’Neal has been closely watching the NBA Finals as an analyst for ABC/ESPN, alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.
He finds this series particularly exciting because there’s so much emphasis on the teams’ big men.
“I love [Wembanyama] and I love KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns], so for me this is really good,” O’Neal told The Post. “Two big men battling it out. Let the best big man win. Usually in the Finals it’s all about guards. But these Finals are about two big men, so I have an affinity, a love, for both of them. So whoever wins, I’m happy for them both.”
Towns has turned heads for his great defense on Wembanyama, especially in Game 1 and the first half of Game 2. He has made a huge impact on both ends of the court for the Knicks, who are one win away from their first championship since 1973.
As for Wembanyama, he has astounded the world with his greatness during his first postseason run, such as when he had a 41-point, 24-rebound and 3-block performance to stun the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
But he has also shown his inexperience at times, such as when he threw the ball off of Stephon Castle’s back with 12.7 seconds left in the Spurs’ 105-104 loss in Game 2 of the Finals.
Now comes his biggest test yet.
The Spurs are against the wall. After being on the wrong side of the biggest comeback in Finals history in Game 4, Wembanyama said the Spurs will either wave the white flag or come together stronger than ever.
Apparently, he now has his answer.
“Everybody thinks, everybody knows, we’re going to do it,” Wembanyama said at Spurs practice Friday.
Regardless of the outcome of the Finals, Wembanyama has undoubtedly lived up to the hype. He carried the Spurs past the reigning champion Thunder in the Western Conference finals, outplaying two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. And he has been a force in his debut on the championship stage.
But, according to O’Neal, when it comes to becoming the next face of the league, nothing is promised.
O’Neal would still choose James to build a team around.
And who’s next in line is far from predetermined.
