Nikola Jokic, with one of the most dominant runs by an NBA player in the post-season, got the Denver Nuggets their first-ever championship in franchise history. And with it, the 2-time MVP also established himself as one of the greatest of all time. Shaquille O’Neal himself welcomed him to the ‘big man alliance’ after he became the Finals MVP. But it was after the sweep against the Lakers when The Big Aristotle anointed The Joker as a better center than Joel Embiid and hence the best in the NBA. And it appears that the Lakers legend is not yet done with the praise for the Serbian big.
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The Serbian international missed out on his 3rd consecutive MVP as it went to the Sixers star. But in the post-season, the battle was one-sided. Jokic led the 2023 MVP in every statistical category apart from blocks per game in the Playoffs. Given, he played 11 more games than Embiid, everyone in the NBA is convinced that Jokic is better.
Shaquille O’Neal agrees with Nick Wright’s take on Nikola Jokic being an all-time great
After Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets to the Championship by defeating Jimmy Butler and Co., Nick Wright weighed in on how he has become one of the few all-time greats from the 21st century.
While giving the list of his other 9 players and when they got themselves in that category, Wright put Jokic among the 10 all-time greats since the turn of the century.
Shaq agreed with that take and recently even shared the story of it on his Instagram. Here’s a Twitter user ‘tragicpatek‘, with screenshots of that story.
Jokic managed 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game with a mind-boggling efficiency rating of 124.2 at the end of the regular season. That propelled the Nuggets to a #1 finish in the West for the first time.
On the other hand, Embiid had a tremendous individual year on both ends of the floor. He averaged a league-leading 33.1 points throughout the season, to go along with 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks, and a steal per game.
So, Embiid winning the 2023 MVP over Jokic was not as absurd at the time. However, The Joker would win a lot more than the Cameroonian for months to come.
Shaq included Jokic in the Big Man Alliance
After Jokic showed the world that he is the best player in the league right now, Shaquille O’Neal honored him by inducting him into his ‘Big Man Alliance’.
The alliance includes Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, and obviously, Shaq himself.
So, Embiid actually lost a lot after winning the MVP over Jokic. A pity too, considering he would have likely preferred the NBA championship and entry to Shaq’s alliance any day over the MVP award.
