Former Golden State Warriors guard Nick Young started a firestorm last week when he claimed that his 2018 Golden State Warriors team is the best in the history of the NBA.
That version of the Dubs won its second straight championship with Kevin Durant on board. That team went 58-24 and was the second seed in the Western Conference. They had four all-star players that season: Steph Curry, KD, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. That team ended up sweeping LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in the NBA Finals.
However, according to former No.1 pick Kenyon Martin , the 2018 Warriors wouldn't have beaten the three-peat Lakers , especially the 2002 version of Kobe and Shaq.
"I got one question," said Martin on Gil's Arena. "The 2001, 2002, 2003 version of Shaquille O'Neal. Who the fu** is going to guard him on your fu*** team? Y'all gonna be in penalty. Y'all gonna be in foul trouble."
Kenyon knows first-hand how good the 2002 Lakers were
Martin knew the 2002 Lakers very well, as they were the team that denied him a chance to win an NBA championship. The Nets went 52-30 during the 2001-02 NBA season, marking the franchise's best regular season since the NBA/ABA merger. They were the top seed in the East and beat the Boston Celtics 4-2 in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.
But as good as that team was in their conference, they were no match for the then two-time defending champions Lakers in the 2002 NBA Finals. With no one to stop Shaq, the Diesel averaged 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game in the series on his way to winning a third straight Finals MVP award.
"Who gonna guard Kobe?" continued K-Mart. "The 2002 version of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal? Not a chance, lunch meat."
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The 2018 Warriors would've been too small for Shaq
Last week, Swaggy P. made a series of controversial tweets, including one claiming that the 2018 Warriors were the best team in the history of the NBA. Young argued that his Dubs were led by two All-NBA team selections in Steph and KD and had four total representatives to the All-Star game.
During Gil's Arena discussion, Young argued that for every two points that Kobe or Shaq scored, Steph, KD, or Kay would answer back with three points because their team was built to shoot the lights out from long distance. However, Martin and the other podcast co-hosts contended that the Dubs would have to play defense.
The 2018 Warriors committed a total of 87 fouls against the Cavs, surrendering 90 free throw attempts to a Cavs squad that had Tristan Thompson as the starting center. On the other hand, the 2002 Lakers drew 105 fouls and took 141 free throws against a Nets team that had Martin, Todd MacCulloch, Aaron Williams, Jason Collins, and Martin. Considering the Dubs had a smaller lineup, Kenyon may have a valid argument against Swaggy P.
Related: Mike D’Antoni talks about the 2018 WCF versus the Warriors: “We had them on the ropes”
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