“Giannis Antetokounmpo is not better than Shaquille O’Neal!”: Stephen A. Smith does not agree that the Milwaukee man is better than the Lakers Legend

Stephen A. Smith has contestable comments about players to say the least – Doesn’t believe for one bit when Shaq says Giannis is better.

Stephen A. Smith is to Giannis is what Skip Bayless is to LeBron James. The man cannot accept the fact that the Milwaukee big man is as good as Shaquille O’Neal, if not better. He takes every opportunity to minimize the Greek Freak’s dominance and greatness. Max Kellerman and Stephen A. went at it when Shaq said he has relinquished his “Superman” title to him.

The ESPN analyst is adamant in his stance that while Giannis may be a dominant player in his own right, he is no where close to what Shaq Diesel was. He stays strong on the fact that Shaq was a big man who literally lived in the paint. A “Meat Wall” who could not be moved, so the defenders literally had to hack him down to stop him from scoring. All of them are true, and to be fair, comparisons between Shaq then and Giannis now cannot be done based on position alone.

Stephen A. is definitely a guy to believe in nostalgia. Granted Shaq was an incredible player and had so many rule changes brought into the NBA because of him. While that may have worked in the 90’s and the early 00’s, basketball isn’t the same anymore. It is position less, and everybody has to do everything on court. A dominant big man who can posterize someone with the same ease as shooting an arcing three – that is where the game is at right now.

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Stephen A. Smith and his takes on Giannis are for ratings – all in good fun, but clouded in judgement

He contradicts himself so many times, and is flummoxed when it is brought up. It makes for great TV though when he fumbles, and it is usually Max Kellerman taking the mickey. Analysts set in their ways do not make good judgements, they stay hyper focused on one player, they do not accept there can be another.

Even when Shaq himself agrees that Giannis is currently better than him, Stephen A. finds a way to justify that by saying he thinks Shaq is kidding the same way he kids about a lot of other players. How can you discredit a HOF player’s recommendation because you don’t think it is true?

Giannis’s playstyle for the majority of his career has been very similar to Shaq. A big man who bullies others in the paint and drop-steps them into a dunk. In Giannis’s case, he uses his lanky frame rather than  weight to blaze past defenders. The execution may have been slightly different, but the end result was the same. Like with every player, Giannis Antetokounmpo has had to adapt his game to the modern NBA – take more jump shots.

He has been getting good at it too, with his jumper looking real smooth.

Also Read: “I would actually pay to watch Stephen Curry”: Shaquille O’Neal applauds the greatness of the Warriors superstar