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Gilbert Arenas still favors Shaquille O'Neal over Nikola Jokic, who could be on his way to winning another MVP award this season. Jokic is averaging 29.8 points, 13.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game for the defending champions Denver Nuggets.
On "Gil's Arena" podcast, the crew of Arenas, Josiah Johnson, Kenyon Martin and Rashad McCants discussed the most dominant big men in NBA history. Shaq and Wilt Chamberlain are synonymous with dominance, but Jokic is rewriting its meaning with his current run.
However, Arenas is not having any of the Shaq slander and explained why he's still taking the LA Lakers legend over "The Joker."
"You have to give it to the dude that they had to change rules for," Arenas said. "When you're talking about making a claim, they had to make rule. ... It was to stop someone because they couldn't stop him, right? You had to trap. You had to go down and double."
Gilbert Arenas argued that people should not take that away from Shaquille O'Neal, who won four NBA championships during his legendary career. He was a force to be reckoned with, and his sheer size made him a dominating player. O'Neal also had the skills and athleticism to become an all-time great.
While Arenas favored Shaq, he still gave Nikola Jokic his flowers and talked about how the Denver Nuggets superstar dominates differently. He praised Jokic's passing, which affects how defenses go after him.
Jokic might not have the same physicality as O'Neal, but his basketball IQ and skills make him unstoppable at the moment.
Shaquille O'Neal welcomed Nikola Jokic to the 'Big Man Alliance' during the NBA Finals
After Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Shaquille O'Neal anointed Nikola Jokic as the newest member of the "Big Man Alliance."
O'Neal acknowledged that Jokic has become an all-time great big man. He believes the "Joker" will be joining him and other legends like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon:
"One last thing, I don't give a lot of props to a lot of big guys, but I give you all the props in the world, brother," Shaq said.
"Very, very, very, impressive to watch. ... I give it up to you, big man, great game. And you know what? You are now a member of the Big Man Alliance."
Jokic has one championship and two NBA MVP trophies in his trophy cabinet. He will need to get at least one more to cement his legacy, as all the aforementioned legends have at least two rings on their fingers.
