Eras have always mattered. At least in the NBA world. For a long time now, the followers and pundits have compared the legends to the current and the up-and-coming stars. We’ve seen Michael Jordan pitted against LeBron James, Kobe Bryant being measured up to Kevin Durant, and even Magic Johnson being juxtaposed with Stephen Curry. However, this time a totally different parallel has been drawn by one of the Veteran NBA players turned coach.

In the recent episode of “Byron Scott’s Fast Break,” the host brought up the topic of how the former Los Angeles Lakers standout sees the current NBA. Derek Fisher spared no time in answering and also included one of his best worked-out comparisons. “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,” said Fisher during the interview.

The 50-year-old player turned coach, pointed out a similarity between the two giants. According to him, both the players had a different approach to dominating the hardwood, yet they had the same concept. These similarities kind of match up also. Both O’Neal and Jokic had a commanding presence on the court and their massive size made it difficult for the other players to guard them. While O’Neal was primarily known for his scoring, Jokic was known as a master playmaker.

Even if we look at the stats of both the players there are a lot of similarities. Jokic currently is 29 and had a promising stat line last season. He scored an average of 26.4 PPG, 12.4 RPG, and 9.0 APG. Whereas, on the other hand, Shaq also had a nearly similar stat line when he was 29 years old (in 2001). The Big Diesel scored an average of 28.7 PPG, 12.7 RPG, and 3.7 APG. “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.

However, this is not the only thing that Fisher said during the interview. He also explained why he was not around for the Lakers for long when he went back to the team for the second stint. For him, he had grown used to sharing the floor with the best players, such as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neil, and also to winning most of the time. Once he left the team in 2004 to join the Sacramento Kings; he was stripped of all the confidence that he had as a Laker. Thus, he failed to meet his expectations in his second term, which led to his departure from the team.“I always played with Kobe and Shaq all these great players and I needed to get there and find out how hard it was to play without those guys,” said Fisher in the podcast.

This unexpected comparison challenges us to reconsider how we evaluate player similarities across eras. It suggests that the essence of basketball excellence might lie more in the mental aspects of the game than in physical attributes or statistical outputs. Moreover, this isn’t the only time the 5x NBA champion has openly spoken about Big Diesel.

Derek Fisher reveals why he looked up to Shaquille O’Neal

Derek Fisher had once opened up on his admiration for Shaq both on and off the court. The two NBA veterans had joined the Lakers at the same time in 1996. While Fisher was a rookie, O’Neal already had experience of playing in the league.

In an interview with ‘Sports Illustrated’ in 2016, the player-turned-coach said that he was forever grateful to the seven-footer, as he was guided by Shaq in the NBA in his initial years. “When I got to L.A., I was just turning 22 years old, a naive Southern kid from Little Rock, Ark. He took me under his wing the way you would a younger sibling and helped me start to learn about the NBA, business, show business, relationships—​all these different things,” said Fisher told ‘Sports Illustrated’.

The point guard also revealed that Shaq had helped him connect with a business attorney, guided him through business relationships, and many more things. This instance made a lasting impact on Shaq’s image who excelled not just in his athletic abilities, but also in his capacity to inspire and lead.

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.