Nikola Jokic seems to be the most unstoppable force in the league right now. Despite teams throwing each and every kind of defense at him, the Joker has managed to dominate all playoff long. Winning the WCF MVP honors, the Serbian superstar is currently amid an incredible final run, averaging 33. Points, 14 rebounds, and 9.3 assists. Missing out on the MVP three-peat, the 6-foot-11 big man finished 2nd to Joel Embiid in the MVP voting. However, by leading the Nuggets to their first-ever championship, Jokic seems to be redeeming himself with the Finals MVP. Merely 2 wins away from adding a title to his already-stacked resume, a Fox Sports analyst claims that Nikola could potentially replace Shaquille O’Neal from #5 of the all-time big rankings.
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Despite being a back-to-back MVP, Jokic barely got any credit. Even though they finished the season with the best record in the West, the Nuggets received little to no media attention. However, after putting on a historic postseason run, the 5-time All-Star has finally been getting his dues. However, out of the many analysts singing the Serbian’s praises, Nick Wright seems to be the most vehement.
“Nikola Jokic could end up next to Shaquille O’Neal”: Nick Wright
The First Things First panel had a lengthy conversation about Nikola’s inclusion in the top 10 rankings of the all-time big men. While Wright didn’t have the 28-year-old in his top 10 list yet, the analyst claimed that winning a title would instantly boost him up to the #8 spot ahead of David Robinson.
“If he wins, I think he jumps ahead of Robinson.”
Further in the same discussion, Wright boldly predicted that, once all is said and done, the Joker could even be good enough to go past Shaquille O’Neal to be top 5.
“I think he could end up where people truly debate him vs Shaq. I think that could happen and that’s top 5 centers of all time.”
It seems rather bizarre that the FS1 analyst could make a case where Nikola surpasses Shaq just yet. Even if the Nuggets end up winning the 2023 title, the Big Aristotle will have 3 championships and 2 scoring titles more than the European hooper.
But again, Nikola is merely 28 years old. With at least 5 years of his prime remaining, there are a lot more accolades that he could gather. And it’s a bit hard to bet against the man grabbing every one of them.
“Shaquille O’Neal can’t guard me”: Jokic
While they have dominated their respective eras like no one else, Shaq and Nikola have entirely different styles of playing.
Using his 350-pound, 7-foot-1 stature, the Diesel would assert his command over the paint. Playing bully ball, the 2000 Most Valuable Player would cause havoc on both ends of the floor.
On the other hand, Jokic is one of the most skillful centers we’ve ever seen. Making the game more positionless than ever, Jokic is able to pass, rebound, and shoot equally effectively, and functions as the lead ball handler for his team.
It would be difficult to gauge the winner of their hypothetical battle. But, according to both, the other one wouldn’t be able to defend them.
The TNT analyst once claimed that the Nuggets’ superstar wouldn’t be able to score easily on him. On the other hand, the 5-time All-NBA player was pretty confident that the Hall-Of-Famer wouldn’t be able to guard him.
“He can’t guard me!”
