The NBA often sees players from past eras battle with players from the modern era on how much tougher the game was in their era. This came to be a major talking point after JJ Redick was called out by Bob Cousy and Jerry West for comments he made about players in the ’60s playing against plumbers.
Another former player that is often critical of the modern game is Shaquille O’Neal. The game evolved after Shaq’s retirement to being a game that favored shooters and not centers like him. There hasn’t been a dominant inside presence like Shaq in years, even though Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic have proven their case as two of the best players in the league.
Despite the achievements of Joel and Nikola, Shaq believes he would still be the best man out. He indicated the same when talking on his ‘The Big Podcast’ where he commented about rule changes hurting the NBA, players playing across eras, and how he’d dominate against modern NBA centers.
“I think it’s hurting the game. It’s a old saying, if it’s not broke do not fix it. I think a lot of times these rules changes because people are complaining.
“It’s a lot of guys being mentioned now and only a few you can pick from this dimension and bring them in. LeBron, Steph guys like that but I’m mentioned with the old aliens.”
“So like people always, you hating, you hating. It’s not that I’m hating, I wish I was playing with these butter cups right now, I wish I was. I promise you I wish I was playing. Ah, it’ll be a slaughter house up there.” (h/t SportsKeeda)
Players like Zion Williamson and Giannis Antetokounmpo have proven that players with excellent athleticism and strength can still succeed in the NBA, so Shaq would likely still be dominant. The lack of physical contact from defenders being allowed now may even let him flourish. His free throw shooting didn’t hurt him in his prime, and it’s unfair to believe it would do so now.
Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are excellent centers because of their versatile arsenals. Embiid has a complete scoring and defensive skill-set both inside and on the perimeter. Jokic is one of the greatest playmakers anyone has ever seen, let alone at 7 feet tall. A good coach would still highlight Shaq in the modern NBA, and his pure force would be a challenge that modern centers aren’t prepared for.
