Shaquille O’Neal is a big man with even bigger takes. Shaq still pays close attention to the gameplay of centers in the modern era of the league, giving unfiltered takes on contemporary big men on his podcast. Ahead of the NBA Finals, the Lakers icon’s pick between Denver Nuggets center, Nikola Jokic, and Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid, left Nischelle Turner and the crew bewildered.

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic led his side to their first-ever NBA Finals with back-to-back triple-doubles. Philly superstar Joel Embiid, on the other hand, claimed his first-ever MVP award.

Shaquille O’Neal picks between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid

In the latest episode of?The Big Podcast with Shaq, Shaquille O’Neal, and co-hosts, Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams spoke at great length about Denver’s triumph in the West. Just like certain NBA veterans and fans, Shaq too has a problem with mainstream media giving more attention to LeBron James and the Lakers. When Jokic and the Nuggets swept the Lakers to reach the Finals, the discourse, according to Shaq, should revolve around Denver and Jokic.

Shaq also made a confident claim about Nikola Jokic. “Listen, he[Nikola Jokic] is very impressive as a big man. The best big man in the league by far,” Shaquille O’Neal said. Nischelle Turner interrupted Shaq and asked, “By far?”

Shaq repeated Jokic by far is the best big man.“He[Nikola Jokic] is the new definition of a new wave center. Like all these other guys are just big guys. Like Joel Embiid to me is just a big guy.”?

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Seems like Shaq is a huge fan of Nikola Jokic. This is not the first time, the 4x-NBA champion had showered praises on the Joker. In fact, O’Neal has now reiterated a claim he made weeks back.

Shaquille O’Neal’s earlier claim about Nikola Jokic

Denver superstar Nikola Jokic’s exploits were at the heart of Denver’s triumph against Phoenix in the second round. In Game 4 of the series, Jokic netted 53 points. Bewildered by the Serbian’s solo show, Shaquille O’Neal proclaimed on live TV that Nikola Jokic is currently the “best center in the game.” However, O’Neal then faced flak from NBA fans. Several fans claimed that Shaq will immediately change his opinion.

Now, O’Neal has reiterated his claim on Jokic., choosing the Denver star over Joel Embiid. Given the massive respect Jokic has garnered with his displays, quite a lot of hoops buffs will be wishing for him to seize the silverware this season.

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