Former 6× NBA All-Star puts himself above LeBron James, Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama in one-on-one under 1 condition

Jermaine O’Neal may have retired from the NBA over a decade ago but is confident in his abilities in a one-on-one matchup, giving himself the edge over LeBron James, Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama on one simple condition.

On The Dan Patrick Show, O’Neal claimed that he would emerge victorious against “anybody” if the game is limited to the mid-post to post area of the court

“If we had a possession game where we were playing mid-post to post, and we’re going to let’s call it five one-on-one, I like my chances. I like my chances against anybody in the post at this point,” O’Neal said.

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“I believe if I had the ball, and if we’re playing just straight post-up, I believe that I’m strong enough, I think I’m still agile enough to score in the low post.”

Despite his confidence in a post-up scenario, O’Neal is self-aware enough to acknowledge his physical limitations when it comes to playing a full-court game.

“Now, if we’re talking about playing full court, I’m not doing that. I’m gonna lost that battle. These legs don’t have that much gas,” he added.

While Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama have only been drafted in recent years, a large part of O’Neal’s career overlapped with LeBron James’. In 27 matchups, across regular season and the postseason, James was undeniably the better player.

Apart from clinching more wins (19-8), James also outperformed O’Neal, averaging more points, rebounds, assists and steals in their matchups.

Nevertheless, Jermaine O’Neal had a respectable professional career. He averaged 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds and was selected to six All-Star and three All-NBA Teams.

Jermaine O’Neal advises Cooper Flagg to take it easy

Since committing to Duke and stepping into college basketball, Cooper Flagg has been widely regarded as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Now that the Dallas Mavericks have selected him, expectations have skyrocketed.

Jermaine O’Neal advised Flagg not to add more pressure by being harsh on himself. Instead, he urged the young star to prioritize growth rather than instant results.

"He has to be able to give himself some grace, as well," O'Neal said on The Dan Patrick Show. "Obviously, a lot of pressure being the number one pick going to a situation that they lost another really good player, so people are expecting him to come in and to fill the void.

“He needs to really just focus on what he can do in his development, and give himself grace over a period of time that he has to understand the transition from college to the NBA."

Fans will get a first glimpse of Cooper Flagg in the NBA when he debuts against the LA Lakers on July 10.

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About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over four years of experience in the field with The SportsRush.

Advait has a love of basketball that stems from playing the game, and has represented Mumbai North at the Inter-District State Championship and Maharashtra at the ASISC National Games.

His favorite team is the New Orleans Pelicans, although Advait also has an affinity for the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. His favorite player of all time was Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers legend's undeniable talent and mentality were just unignorable. As for players in the current game, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and Kyrie Irving are top of Advait's list.

When not watching or writing about sports, Advait is a fan of true crime shows, board games and console gaming.

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