Heavy is the head that wears the crown. No truer is that statement in basketball than for the NBA’s MVP. Unfortunately, that is the boat Joel Embiid finds himself in. Despite an MVP to his name and being on pace for a second straight, his standing atop the league remains in jeopardy. That is mostly due to his lack of playoff success. But, the big man still has supporters. To make his case for the Philadelphia 76ers superstar, Shaquille O’Neal even went so far as to compare it to his example.

When debating the stats between himself and Embiid, the 7-footer would shockingly choose Joel’s number. However, as far as legacy, playoffs, and resume are concerned, O’Neal had to be his harshest self. “I’mma give it to him like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] gave it to me. And he should take it as disrespectful because that’s how I took it.”

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But, for Shaq, it is factual instead of disrespectful. “I was averaging big numbers with LA, really bigger than his. As big as Wilt [Chamberlain]…But, we kept getting swept in the playoffs.” Then, he mentions a specific article that gave him pause and made him re-evaluate his mindset.

“They ask Kareem, ‘What do you think of Shaq?’ and Kareem says, ‘Well, he hasn’t won any championships yet.’ So, that’s my message to Mr. Embiid. Like, we know what you can do but can you do when it comes time- when it really needs to be done? Can you do it at the big dance? Can you get the phone number at the big dance and can you take it home and close the deal?” 

To explain to the 2022 NBA MVP the pressure that comes with the position, Big Diesel would bring up another example from his past.

The pressure is never-ending according to Shaquille O’Neal

“The only time I heard I couldn’t win was when it had to do with my liability at the free throw line…They said if I could hit free throws, we have a chance to win. But, we just kept getting swept. Got swept Uear 1, Sweep Year 2,3, and then I just finally got tired.” 

That’s when the article from The Captain came out. And it gave The Big Aristotle some much-needed perspective. “ It kind of also taught me how to, instead of always worrying about being criticized, see if there’s some truth to that criticize and then I had to say, you know what, Kareem has G-19 classification. So, if the boss man said Shaq ain’t that good cuz he ain’t won the Championships, then I’m not that good.” 

Using that as inspiration, O’Neal was able to change his trajectory. That is what he would like to perpetuate to Joel as well, because the grind of expectations never stops.

“Because what he needs to understand after he wins the first one, they are going to say, bet you can’t go back to back. And if he wins the 2nd oh, bet you can’t. Oh, you got one, Joker [Nikola Jokic] got one. Who’s going to be the first to number 2? It never stops. The greater you get, the more pressure that is put upon you.” Otherwise, as the big man said earlier in the week, he’s going to get killed.

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If Embiid wants to impress everyone, “Guys like me don’t get impressed until you win and that’s why I say Joker is the best big man in the league. We all know Joel Embiid is the best big man when it comes to numbers all that but Joker went to the Big Dance and got that thing done.” 

Who do you think is the better big man currently? Let us know in the comments below.