NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has never been one to mince words and that trend continued on Tuesday.
On "NBA on TNT," O'Neal was asked by Adam Lefkoe what would happen if 2001 Shaq went against 2025 Nikola Jokic and the Hall of Famer didn't hold back, saying he would dominate the Denver Nuggets big man.
"Slovenian chicken," O'Neal said. "I'm getting 40 and they're gonna have to double me. He probably gonna pick-and-pop. ... After he shoot the 3, I'm running right to the middle lane and the whole arena gonna yell three seconds and we'll see. And I'mma hit way more 2s than you hit 3s, guarantee you that."
O'Neal is universally recognized as the most dominant player in NBA history. However, basketball fans were split about whether or not the four-time champion would dominate Jokic, who has won three MVPs.
"Nobody in any Era has an answer for Shaq," one fan said. "He was the most dominant center besides Wilt."
"Shaq would dominate him in the post, but Joker would pull Shaq away from the basket and make him play in space," another fan said. "They would both prolly foul out tryna guard each other."
O'Neal averaged 28.7 points and 12.7 rebounds for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000-01. He then put up 30.4 points and 15.4 rebounds per game in the 2001 playoffs, helping the Lakers win the championship against the Philadelphia 76ers.
O'Neal's best scoring season was in 1999-00. He averaged 29.7 points in the regular season and 30.7 points in the postseason, leading the Lakers to the title against the Indiana Pacers.
"No one can handle Shaq," one fan said.
Another fan added, "Shaq was a handful back then. Jokic is more skilled. Jokic will get his triple-double, while Shaq gets his double-double. But I'll go with Shaq. He was a monster."
O'Neal and Jokic are two of the greatest centers of all time. It's impossible to know how they would match up against each other, but it was certainly fun for fans to think about what a Shaq vs. Joker battle would look like.
"Jokic struggles on defense anyways," one fan said. "He's not stopping prime Shaq."
Another fan chimed in by saying, "Yea y'all disrespecting Shaq a lil bit too much under here please don't get confused on who he is fr…the most dominate ever literally Jokic would be in foul trouble very early."
Related: Bulls Rising Star 'Expected' To Seek $30 Million Per Year Contract
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 7:21 PM.