“It’s only one Superman now and that’s Giannis Antentokounmpo”: Shaquille O’Neal reveals the reasons behind passing his name to the Greek Freak

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal reveals why he decided to give his nickname superman to Giannis Antentokounmpo.

One of the most dominant players to ever step on the NBA hardwood, Shaq was a force to reckon with, especially in the paint. The 7-feet center is a 4x NBA champion and a 3x Finals MVP.

During his career, Shaq had earned the nickname Superman. The 15x All-Star was a force of nature on the basketball court, which destroyed his opponents. Big Diesel is a huge fan of the superhero character and even has a tattoo of the Superman emblem on his arm.

Over the years, Shaq has been very protective about his Supername nickname. The Lakers legend didn’t hide his disapproval when Dwight Howard tried his stint with the name. The two former Lakers players till today don’t see eye to eye.

However, during the 2018-19 season, Shaq decided to give up his iconic nickname of superman to the Greek Freak while appearing as a guest on the Stephen A. Smith radio show, “I’ve never given my name up before, but I’m giving it to him. He’s the new Superman. You heard it here first.”

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The same season Giannis won his first-ever MVP. The Greek superstar would go on to win back-to-back MVPs and was the 2020 DPOY as well.

However, it’s his 2021 Finals performance that cemented his position in the all-time power forwards list. Giannis put up identical numbers to Shaq’s final performances.

Shaquille O’Neal reveals why Giannis is the Superman of the current era

During his podcast, Shaq said, “Some guys like to get it the easy way, and if I got to do something the easy way vs the hard way, I don’t want it, he(Giannis) did it the old school way.”

The Hall of Famer spoke about how the Bucks superstar would get the same respect from Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Dr. J as he did. Shaq spoke about how he wanted to be in the same ranks as Magic, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell.

The 2x scoring champion even spoke about how easy it would have been for him to join forces with a Michael Jordan or a Tim Duncan but he didn’t.

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Giannis averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game during the Finals and scored 50-points in the clinching game.