Shaquille O’Neal isn’t one to give a lot of praise to today’s stars, especially big men. He holds them to a very high standard and, far too often, is left disappointed with what he sees.
Nikola Jokic, though, is proving to be one of the exceptions as Shaq showered praise upon the Serbian after he led the Denver Nuggets to a 104-93 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.
“One last thing, I don’t give a lot of props to a lot of big guys,” O’Neal said. “But I give you all the props in the world, brother. Very, very impressive to watch… You know what? You are now a member of the big man alliance.”
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This was the first time Shaq had seen Jokic play in person, and he was in awe of the Serbian. Jokic only had 4 points in the first quarter but had 6 assists as he looked to get his teammates involved. As the game went on, he was more aggressive and finished the night with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists, a steal, and a block.
He has been simply phenomenal in these playoffs with averages of 29.8 PPG, 13.1 RPG, 10.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 0.9 BPG. This will go down one of the greatest playoff runs ever if he can cap it off with a championship.
Tracy McGrady Was Also Full Of Praise For Nikola Jokic
Some former players seemed really hesitant to give Jokic a lot of praise before these playoffs, but his excellence has won them over. Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady stated he has never seen anything like the Serbian and added that he would have loved to play with him.
Jokic is establishing himself as the best player in the world now, and if he wins this title, there would be no debate on who is the top dog. Damian Lillard already crowned him as the best, and it is great to see Jokic finally getting the respect that he deserves.
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