I wasn't the best player on those teams" - Shaq recalls his run with Kobe Bryant to give advice to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

Amid fierce debates on who the best player on the Boston Celtics is, Shaquille O’Neal spoke about his time with Kobe Bryant to prove why those conversations are pointless.

Earlier in the week, Jason Kidd tried to play some mind games with Boston’s superstar duo when he said Jaylen Brown is better than Jayson Tatum. However, O’Neal, who was once a part of a similar discussion alongside Kobe, stressed the kind of damage it can do if two teammates are pinned against each other.

“In my Laker runs, I wasn’t the best player on the team. I knew that, but I knew I was the most dominant. So, I knew my role. I knew what I had to do. I wasn’t worried about these useless titles. So, if those two young gentlemen are worried about useless titles … it will definitely affect them tonight. … Not only affect this game, but they will lose the series,” said Shaq before Game 2 of the Finals.

The debates haven’t hampered Boston so far

After February’s All-Star break, Brown and Tatum came out firing, looking to prep for a deep playoff run.

Jaylen averaged 25.6 points and 5,7 rebounds while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 38.1 from three. Tatum, in the thick of the MVP race, put up 26.2 points, 7.1, and rebounds while converting 46.1 percent of his attempts from the floor and 40.9 from long range.

With each of Boston’s superstars heating up, so did debates about who the better player is. The Jays put up similar counting stats throughout Boston’s playoff run before the Finals, with Brown averaging 25.0 points and 6.1 rebounds and Tatum posting 26.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.

When Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said he believes Brown is Boston’s best player, comparing him to Tatum became the hottest subject in the NBA world. But to their credit, Boston’s superstar duo has put the noise behind them.

Up 2-0 in the series, they are two wins away from a championship. But funny enough, neither of them might not be crowned the Finals MVP, at least if former NBA champion Jrue Holiday keeps up his massive contributions.

How will Dallas respond on their home court?

There’s no doubt that Kidd should be more focused on trying to make this a series again instead of worrying about who the best player in Boston is. Dallas is in a black hole, down 0-2, a deficit that’s been erased only five times in NBA Finals history.

If Dallas wants to come back, Kyrie Irving will need to step up and play like he did in 2016 or 2017, when he averaged close to 30 points per game across two Finals series against the Golden State Warriors.

So far, Boston has had success playing Luka Doncic straight-up without sending an extra defender. But that has only worked because the Mavericks’ auxiliary players haven’t stepped up.

Role players tend to perform better at home, which is why Dallas can’t be counted out in making this a series. But given Boston’s domination thus far— even without Brown and Tatum putting up monster stats—Dallas might be simply overmatched.