How can one forget that Shaquille O’Neal and Nikola Jokić’s debate led to a diss battle? And it was because Shaq felt Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander was a better MVP candidate than the Serbian. It led to Shannon Sharpe calling out the Lakers legend, jealous of today’s Bigs. Fast forward to a few months, and the debate between the Centers is still ongoing. Even a former Purple and Gold star chimed in the Jokic-Shaq debate. Eventually, even the Arenas Crew gave their two cents.

The conversation on the show was about domination in today’s league. “Conversation we had about Joker, when we asked about is Joker just as dominant as Shaq, right? And our conversation went to the left because we had to take out his assists because Shaq didn’t have that.” Rashad McCants said on ‘Gil’s Arena’.

“We’re comparing him to Shaq. So the dominance of Joker is always going to be belittled because he does other things that aren’t exciting, like passing the ball and he’s not dunking on n**. We’ll look at Joker and be like, was he the most dominant guy in the playoffs?” Even Gilbert Arenas felt that looking at the stat sheet at the end of the game doesn’t speak about real dominance.

One can prove the point as Shaquille O’Neal did post a story on social media about the same. At the end of last year, on his Instagram, he uploaded a story about the change in the role of Centers. In the early part of the video, it demonstrated that the new-age Bigs would rely more on shooting and fancy dribbling to impact the game. Whereas, the old school centers would concentrate on the paintwork and primal bully-ball.

It’s also the reason why Shaquille O’Neal felt that Victor Wembanyama wouldn’t be a dominant player. Appearing on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ a few weeks ago, the 4x NBA Champion felt that the Frenchman lacked aggression in paint. Shaq was known for his dominance on the rim and breaking backboards. And a player who was by his side during his Lakers run also highlighted the Jokic-Shaq debate.

Are Shaquille O’Neal and Jokic equally dominant?

Appearing on the recent episode of ‘Byron Scott’s Fast Break’, Derek Fisher first gave flowers to O’Neal for his dominance. “People have no idea how big and strong Shaquille O’Neal was. Like it’s not even close to any type, like as Nikola Jokic has been.” Pointed out the similarities of both these players feel unguardable.

Even though their style of play is completely different, both of them stand out for their teams. Jokic dominates the games not only by scoring and rebounding but by showcasing his playmaking skills. That’s why Jokic has won three out of the last 4 MVP titles in the league. “You have no match-up for Nikola Jokic and everybody knows it and everybody says it. This dude, there is no match-up for this dude. Right? That was Shaq,” said the 50-year-old during the interview.

Not just the Bigs, but the game has changed overall for all the players. With concentration on shooting more threes and creating plays, the old dunking display has taken a back seat. That’s why the odd clips of dunks from players like Anthony Edwards get appreciation not only from the fans but the veterans as well. However, as far as the debate of who really should get the honor of being the most dominant despite the various changes to the playing style today remains a question for tomorrow.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”