One of the biggest critics of the state of the modern NBA big man is former Lakers superstar, and current TNT analyst, Shaquille O’Neal.
But in the most recent segment of the show, O’Neal shocked the world with his comments about Joel Embiid, who he said made him cry after watching his highlights..
“The game he played the other day [against the Bulls] had me in tears. I haven’t seen a big man play that way in a long time. I haven’t seen a big man in the MVP conversation in a long time.”
For those that don’t know, Embiid dropped 50 points and 17 rebounds against the Bulls last Friday, further cementing his status as an MVP candidate.
Unlike a lot of today’s big men, Embiid isn’t just a spot-up shooter or rebounder.
He’s a guy who isn’t afraid to get down low, put his back to the basket, and use his body and strength to score buckets against his defenders.
For a guy like Shaq, who dominated in that exact way, it’s got to be nice to see that — and to know that the traditional big man style has still not gone extinct.
The question is, is Embiid the last, or is he simply going to be the first one to spark a big man’s revival?
