On Thursday’s episode of “Keyshawn, JWill & Max,” former Bulls guard Jay Williams made a bold statement about 76ers big man, Joel Embiid.
Speaking to his co-hosts, he argued that legendary big man Shaquille O’Neal would not be able to guard him.
“Joel Embiid is on his way to be the first center since Shaq, to lead the NBA in scoring. Remember when we talked about ‘what happened to traditional bigs?’ They’ve morphed into Joel Embiid. I think Shaq would have fits trying to guard him. Shaq wouldn’t be able to guard him. I would float him on the perimeter all day long. I know scouting reports of when he was a young Shaq and they would just string him out on the perimeter cause he still had a hard time guarding pick and rolls. I would put Joel Embiid in that situation.”
O’Neal is widely considered one of the most dominant players in NBA history. In his prime, he was an absolute machine who used his size and strength to power his way to the rim.
So far, the only player Shaq has admitted defeat against is Hakeem Olajuwon, who O’Neal credits as the one who cost him a title.
“I think I showed him too much respect,” said Shaq. “We had the same agent at one time, and he was just a nice guy. And I didn’t want to hurt my friend,” said Shaq. “He kinda set me up because during the regular season, I was having my way with him. So, when we got to the finals that year in Orlando, I was real arrogant. We had 10 days off we were doing things all wrong, flying to Atlanta, partying. It was out of control. I thought we were gonna win it. Then he just turned that switch on and I couldn’t get him to turn it off.”
Embiid is no Kareem, nor is he Shaq. But his mobility and perimeter shooting ability would likely have posed a huge problem for traditional bigs.
In 5 years in the league, the Sixers star is averaging 29.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 49% shooting.
He is set to become the first center since Shaq to lead the league in scoring.
