Shaquille O'Neal refuses to offer Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving duo contender status: "2 guys that are doing the same thing"

Former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal has shared his opinion about the duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The backcourt duo have been trying their best to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a spot in the playoff. Many have started to consider them as title contenders this season.

The Mavs are currently eighth in the Western Conference with a 27-23 record. The two stars have also struggled to stay healthy. Irving recently returned from a thumb injury after missing six games. His return was felt by the team as they won against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, Feb. 5.

Despite the two stars playing a similar brand of basketball where they need the ball to be effective, it hasn't caused any chemistry issues. However, O'Neal isn't a believer in what the Mavs are trying to do with their star duo. He doesn't think that Irving and Doncic make Dallas a title contender with the way they are playing.

Speaking on an episode of "Inside the NBA," O'Neal recently pointed out what great All-Star duos have done to make things work in their favor.

"If you look at all the historic, great 1-2 punches, they all fed off each other," Shaq said. "[Michael] Jordan was going to have the ball and Scottie [Pippen] was going to fill in. Kobe [Bryant] was going to do what he do and you throw it to Shaq. We fed off each other."

Shaq then pointed out what's wrong with the Mavs' system and why he doesn't see them as a title contender.

"These two guys, in my opinion, they’re the same player... When you have two guys that are doing the same thing, I don’t think it’s gonna work."

The two stars indeed have similar playstyles. However, they can still turn things around as long as they have enough time to play together.

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Shaquille O'Neal on Luka Doncic being compared to Michael Jordan

Mavs head coach Jason Kidd recently made headlines about his opinion about Doncic. To him, the Slovenian star is already in the atmosphere of Michael Jordan. Kidd also said that the current star has already surpassed the greatest player of their franchise, Dirk Nowitzki.

After his take went viral, Shaquille O'Neal was one of the few people who gave their opinion on the matter.

"Great player but I don’t think you can start putting him in that category yet," Shaq said. "Great player but better than Dirk? A little too early."

For Shaq, Doncic still has a long way to go before he can be compared to Jordan. The former Chicago Bulls superstar collected trophies, broke records, and changed the game to be considered one of the greatest players. The Mavs star still has a long career ahead of him to prove how great he is.