Recently, Shaquille O’Neal pointed to the current state of the NBA as the main reason why LeBron James continues to stand out in the league. Now, a former player has fired back at the Los Angeles Lakers legend.

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal © Getty ImagesNBA legend Shaquille O’Neal

A few days ago, Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal criticized LeBron James’ longevity, arguing that today’s NBA is too soft and that this allows older athletes to continue competing at the highest level. Now, a former NBA player has responded harshly to O’Neal’s comments.

“There has never been a better 40-year-old basketball player on the planet than LeBron James. So it’s weird to even say something negative about the longevity of this dude’s career, because that’s part of the reason why he’s so great,” Chandler Parsons said during an episode of Run It Back.

“You can’t knock the dude or that era that he’s played in, and now we’re trying to knock him for how long he’s played and try to nitpick why he’s done that? That’s ridiculous,” added the former Houston Rockets forward. “I fully disagree with this.”

Parsons went further, imagining what O’Neal’s career would have looked like in today’s “soft” NBA. “Put Shaq after 2003, and I love Shaq – he’s my guy – put him in the same draft, and in 2025, I guarantee you he would still not have this long and this great of a career,” he said.

Chandler Parsons playing with the Houston Rockets against the New York Knicks at the Toyota Center on November 23, 2012

Chandler Parsons playing with the Houston Rockets against the New York Knicks at the Toyota Center on November 23, 2012

Is today’s NBA softer than in the ’90s?

In the same conversation, Chandler Parsons also weighed in on the theory that the NBA today is not as physical as it was 30 or 40 years ago. “Let’s say maybe it is,” he acknowledged, before clarifying that this shouldn’t affect the analysis of LeBron James’ career: “Whether that was the ’80s or ’90s, it does not matter.”

He then highlighted the enormous effort James has put into maintaining his level of play. “This dude puts in the work and it doesn’t matter that the game is officiated softer or there is load management now, because there are plenty of guys that played in the same era as LeBron who have not had the success and played this long that he has,” Parsons said.

“He’s done it at an elite level that nobody has ever done,” Chandler added. “Put any player from 2003 to now, they’re not gonna have that good, that long of a career as LeBron James, so it does not matter.”

NBA stars praise LeBron James’ longevity

Beyond Shaquille O’Neal’s comments, some NBA stars have recently highlighted LeBron James’ incredible impact on the league, including Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown. The reigning Finals MVP said in a recent interview that the Lakers star has “superpowers” and jokingly wondered if he’s hiding some other secret.