The NBA season is coming to an end soon, and the MVP race is as good as it can get. For most of the season, it was Nikola Jokic who was dominating the contention, and it looked like he’d become the 4th player in NBA History to win MVP 3 times in a row. However, over the course of the last few weeks, things have turned around.
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2x runner-up Joel Embiid has taken control of the MVP ladder and secured the top spot for himself. The two are expected to lock horns tonight, with the Sixers making their way to Denver. While we don’t know who is going to win the Michael Jordan trophy this year, we know that it will be one of these two candidates.
The two of them are the best big men in the NBA, and arguably the best big men we’ve seen in the NBA since Shaquille O’Neal himself. Even before he became the league MVP, Jokic once talked about locking horns with Shaq.
Nikola Jokic believed Shaquille O’Neal can’t guard him
Over the course of the past few years, as Jokic’s popularity rose, we heard Shaquille O’Neal and the others talk more and more about him. We have seen attempts of Shaq talking in ‘Serbian’ with the 2x MVP only to be reminded that he isn’t Russian. We’ve seen Shaq talk about how he’d fare playing against Jokic.
However, way before all of this, even Jokic gave his two cents about the same. In 2018, he sat down for an interview where he was asked how Shaq would fare guarding him and vice-versa. Jokic laughed and said,
“He can’t guard me!”
Jokic says Shaq can’t guard him. 😂 pic.twitter.com/v03znA0uci
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 26, 2018
Jokic continued to recall the first time he saw Shaq in person was when he was at the Team USA vs Team World game on his first All-Star weekend. Nikola was taken aback by Big Diesel’s size and then went on to compliment how dominant Shaq was. After singing his praise, Jokic still reiterated that Shaq couldn’t guard him.
Now, this video was filmed before Jokic even had his first All-Star selection. It’s the level of confidence he had in his skill and craft that helped him win the MVP honors twice.
Jokic was shooting better than prime Shaq last season
Shaquille O’Neal is arguably one of the best big men the NBA has ever seen. The 7ft 1″ center was an absolute beast and dominated his opponents. He was unstoppable once he got in the paint. However, Jokic, who never had any such narrative for himself, shot better from 2s last year than Shaq ever did.
Nikola Jokić is now shooting 65.1% from two this season with fewer than 30 dunks.
For context: Shaq never shot above 61.0% on twos for a full season, despite averaging over 220 dunks per year in his prime.
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) April 2, 2022
I mean, one reason for the same can be as Shaq said himself, he used to be guarded by three/four players every possession. Another reason can be the significance of the 3-point line. 3s weren’t that big a deal when Shaq was in his prime. However, defenders now have to stay close to their mark, no matter where they are on the court. Due to this, the paint becomes a little decongested, unlike two decades ago.
