Los Angeles Lakers legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal made headlines when he told USA Today Sports that his former purple and gold team would "easily win" over the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.

"Other people might feel different, they (the Warriors) might feel different," O'Neal said. "But we had one of the best teams of all-time in 2001 when we went 15-1 in the playoffs."

Warriors point guard and two-time MVP Stephen Curry told ESPN after the game that Shaq is "dead wrong," and that the Warriors would get the best of the legendary Lakers team that won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002.

"Of course. We’d beat them. We can go back-and-forth all day," Curry said. "Teams that dominated their respective eras need to be left alone in terms of what that means. Hopefully that’s how they’ll approach us when they talk about us 20, 30 years from now looking back."

So who would Vegas bet on if this epic series could have possibly taken place? Jeff Sherman from the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook informed ESPN that the 2018-19 Warriors would be a 12.5-point favorite against the 2001 Lakers.

RELATED: SHAQUILLE O’NEAL SAYS WARRIORS WOULD LOSE TO HIS OLD LAKERS SQUAD

Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Because nobody outside of science fictions movies has built a DeLorean time machine, it's impossible to know who would win a series between the two powerhouses - all loaded with multi-time champions and MVP winners.

Led by Shaq and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers went 56-26 in the 2000-01 season, cruising easily to their second straight championship. They scored 100.6 points per game and allowed 97.2 points per contest. Their offensive rating was 108.4.

In comparison, the 2018-19 Warriors are averaging 115.6 points and allowing 110.6 per game, with an offensive rating of 115.1. But this Warriors team certainly doesn't stand out as much as previous teams. With 10 losses on the season, they're likely to surpass their loss totals from each of the last four years.

What This Means

As Curry said, it's difficult to compare teams from completely different eras. The Warriors have revolutionized the game with historically dominant and efficient three-point shooting.

But it's a fun debate to have for fans and pundits. The only downside is we'll never find who would have won an epic match up between the 2001 Lakers and 2019 Warriors. Maybe time travel will be possible someday...

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