Shaquille O’Neal is widely regarded as one of the greatest big men in NBA history, and he was recently compared to Nikola Jokic in a hilarious Instagram video. The video in question showed two glasses of water representing Shaq and Jokic, with water poured into each glass to illustrate their respective qualities such as scoring, athleticism, and dominance.
Furthermore, the comparison revealed that Shaq and Jokic were evenly matched in many areas, with Shaquille O’Neal having an advantage in defence and domination, while Nikola Jokic was regarded as a superior scorer and more laid-back. This comparison, while funny, is not new; the Joker has frequently been compared to Big Shaq owing to his overpowering play.
However, the two big men have differing career statistics, as the reigning MVP has averaged 28.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game in his nine seasons, while Shaq averaged 23.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game in over 19 seasons. Moreover, it’s important to note that Shaq’s numbers declined in his later years, while Jokic is still in his prime.
Shaquille O’Neal clears the air about his Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP comments
Shaquille O’Neal faced criticism when he told Nikola Jokic that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserved the 2024 NBA MVP award more than him. This comment was made during a TNT interview with Jokic after he was named the league’s most valuable player.
On the Point Game podcast, Shaq explained his reasoning and stated that he wanted to tell Jokic directly to avoid his words being twisted by others. He also emphasized that his opinion was not meant as a diss towards Jokic, but rather as a genuine assessment of SGA’s performance.
I hate when people act like they don’t hear me when I speak clearly. The reason why I told Joker man-to-man is because when you say things, everybody wants to get in and twist it. And the first thing I told him, I said, ‘You’re the best big man in the league, but this is no disrespect to you. I want to tell you here so people ain’t twisting my words. I thought SGA should’ve been MVP. That’s not a diss; that’s called real.’ Shaquille O’Neal said “On the Point Game” podcast
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