"They called the f**king city Lebronto" - Ice Cube's son critiques Shaquille O'Neal’s LeBron James & Michael Jordan comparison

An NBA fan page on X/Twitter, called @NBAinthezone, has highlighted a statement made by Shaquille O'Neal in March regarding LeBron James. On an episode of "The Big Podcast," O'Neal said that he has heard other NBA players say they feared Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but he's never heard anyone say that about James.

This post from @NBAinthezone grabbed the attention of rapper Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., who is a massive James fan. He responded to the tweet in defense of the four-time NBA champion.

"They called the f***ing city LeBronto. Lmfaooooo," tweeted Jackson Jr.

For context, O'Neal made this comparison between Jordan, Bryant and James while speaking with one of James' former Heat teammates, Mario Chalmers.

Chalmers talked about how James embraced the villain role in the NBA during that era, especially in Cleveland since he left them for Miami. Afterwards, Shaq made the aforementioned statement.

It was later clarified that the reason why other players did not fear James was not because they thought he was a lesser star, but because he had a different persona compared to Bryant and Jordan. James only really embraced his villain role because the fans painted him as such; whereas Jordan and Bryant had a phase where they were comfortable with it.

Once James returned to the Cavs, his villain image was shed and he was once again seen as the hometown hero.

James later made up for abandoning the Cavs by coming back and helping them win a championship in 2016. It was also during his second stint with the Cavs that the legend of 'LeBronto' was born.

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What is 'LeBronto'? Looking back at how LeBron James dominated the Toronto Raptors

During LeBron James' time in Miami, the Heat was the most dominant force in the Eastern Conference. They made four straight trips to the NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014 and came away with the title twice, in 2012 and 2013.

When James returned to Cleveland after the 2014 season, the Cavaliers became the top dog of the East. They powered their way to the NBA Finals, from 2015 to 2018, after missing the postseason throughout the star forward's absence. It was in one of these runs that the term 'LeBronto' was coined.

Specifically, it was during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Cavs and the Raptors in 2018. After the third quarter, James already had 31 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds as the Cavs led by eight (98-87).

At the end of that quarter, announcer Mark Jones issued this statement informing fans to stay tuned for more basketball action.

"We'll be back to 'LeBronto' for the fourth quarter after this," said Jones.

James went on to finish the game with 43 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds which helped lead the Cavs to a 128-110 victory.

James' dominance over the Raptors did not end in Game 2. In the following game, he scored 38 points, grabbed six rebounds and had seven assists to go up 3-0.

And finally, in Game 4, he scored 29 points, dished 11 dimes and pulled down eight boards to complete the sweep.