Shaquille O’Neal, despite his ‘hatred for modern bigs, fawned over Giannis Antetokounmpo as his ‘next heir’
Shaquille O’Neal raved about Giannis Antetokounmpo, making him one of the only big-men in today’s league to receive his praise.
Shaquille O’Neal was both the unstoppable force and the immovable object during his heyday with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and Miami heat. Even his time with the Phoenix Suns was a productive one before he bounced from there to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then eventually to the Boston Celtics where he finished his career off.
One stat that showcases just how dominant and clutch ‘The Big Aristotle’ is his averages in the NBA Finals from 2000-2002. Against the Indiana Pacers, he put up an otherworldly 38 points and 16.7 rebounds a night all whole shooting 61% from the field. Against the Sixers and the Nets, he would average 33 and 15.8 and 36.3 and 12.3 a game, respectively.
A player averaging 33+ points in a Finals series in the 75 years since the NBA started has happened only 20 points. Shaquille O’Neal makes up 15% of those 20 instances.
Despite all the dominance that O’Neal put on display night in and night out, NBA fans wonder if a post-centric player who uses brute force as his primary offensive weapon would survive in this era. An era dominated by range and floor-spacing, would Shaq be just as dominant.
According to the 4x champion, there’s one player who’s proving his case for why he would indeed be a superstar in the 2010s and 2020s.
Shaquille O’Neal on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Shaquille O’Neal has long been an advocate for post-dominance by big-men in the NBA. He’s shown a certain level of dislike for today’s bigs, most famously Rudy Gobert, who snagged a supermax contract.
Despite him clearly not liking where the game is headed or has already headed for big-men, there’s one player who he truly loves to see play: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While talking about how players in this day and age are shooting 3-pointers and calling them ‘cute, he would then go on to reveal how he’s already playing in the NBA, implying Giannis his just the 2020 version of himself.
“Someone asked me the other day, ‘Oh Shaq couldn’t play today.’ But you’re not paying attention. I am playing today. My name is Greek Freak.”
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