“Closest Thing We’ve Seen To a Shaquille O’Neal”: DeMarcus Cousins Puts Giannis Antetokounmpo On the Highest Big Man Pedestal

DeMarcus Cousins recently gave Giannis Antetokounmpo the highest honor one can receive in the NBA as a center. During an appearance on the Run It Back show, Cousins was asked about what he thinks of Giannis and the recent NBA Cup win. The 34-year-old heaped praise on the Bucks superstar for being a dominant player.

Cousins believes that Giannis put on a show for the fans with his performance in the final. He was seemingly running out of words to describe Giannis and his impact as a “one-man wrecking crew.” But then Cousins found the perfect reference, comparing him to Shaquille O’Neal.

He said, “At this point, as far as just being physically dominant, in this era of basketball, he’s the closest thing we have seen to a Shaquille O’Neal.” Cousins shocked the panel with his answer as Chandler Parsons reacted, “That’s crazy, and as a wing too.” Despite the surprise, no one disagreed with his assessment of the Greek Freak.

"As far as being physically dominant, Giannis is the closest thing we've seen to a Shaquille O'Neal."

High praise from @boogiecousins, but do you agree with this comparison between Giannis and Shaq?

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— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 18, 2024

The ‘Big Aristotle’ himself has stated in the past that Giannis is who he would be if he played in the modern NBA. “I would’ve been the ‘Greek Freak’. A guy that can dribble, can handle, can go to the hole with force, do that, kick it to guards,” said Shaq in a 2019 taping on ‘inside the NBA’.

Shaq is widely regarded as the most dominant player to ever play the game. In his prime, Shaq was unstoppable and he used to terrorize the league. So, for Giannis to be put on the same pedestal, is a very high praise. Based on his recent performances, especially in the final of the NBA Cup, it’s fair to say that he has earned the honor.

Giannis dropped 29 points with 19 rebounds and 10 assists to take his team to a comfortable 97-81 victory against the OKC. For a team that was struggling and had been written off by many not too long ago, it’s as great a comeback as it could be. Cousins also shed light on this aspect of the Milwaukee franchise.

DeMarcus Cousins believes the NBA Cup will boost the Bucks’ momentum

Before the season started, the Bucks were riding high on confidence as Darvin Ham claimed that his team had spent enough time together and they were ready to dominate the league. However, the exact opposite started happening and the Bucks quickly fell through the charts, ‘boasting’ a 2-8 record to start the year. In the last few weeks, they have made a remarkable comeback.

Cousins said, “I think this is great for the team. They took a lot of hits earlier in the season with the way they started. With the talent they have on the roster, they weren’t where the expectations had them. So, this is a good momentum boost for them. I can see them becoming a better team after this…and actually having the chance to running the East.”

The Bucks are currently the fifth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference with a 14-11 record. They have won eight of their last 10 games and are on a three-game winning streak. If they manage to continue the same way for another few weeks, they’ll easily break into the group of top-ranked teams like the Cavs and the Celtics.