Shaquille O’Neal generously lets Nikola Jokic take his place in ‘Top 5 Centers of All Time’ list

Shaquille O'Neal surprisingly revealed that he believes that Nikola Jokic has a chance to become a top five center in NBA history.

Shaquille O’Neal generously lets Nikola Jokic take his place in ‘Top 5 Centers of All Time’ list

Shaquille O'Neal places Nikola Jokic on top 5 centers list

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most humble superstars of all time. He has consistently played down his accomplishments when talking about the top players in the world. With 4x Championships and multiple Finals MVPs under his belt, O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the top centers of all time.

However, on a recent show, Shaq generously admitted that Nikola Jokic might overtake him soon. On the latest episode of First Things First with Nick Wright and Chris Broussard, Shaquille O’Neal discussed the future of Nikola Jokic.

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Wright asked Shaq about the circumstances required for the Serbian Big man to make his way into the ‘Top 5 Centers of All Time’ list. The Big Diesel humbly admitted that he may not be on the list soon because of the way Jokic’s career is progressing.

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I wouldn’t put myself in there but you know, people judge talent in many ways. Stats, of course, is one of them. Championships is one of them. (Jokic) has one. I think if he gets up in that three championships realm he’ll definitely be on the list. He’s on that list for me, I wouldn’t really you know put myself on that list you know you always got to count the guys who made me who I am.

Shaquille O’Neal said
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TS: 7:54

Nick Wright named Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon in his ‘Top 5 Centers of All Time’ list. However, Shaq, rather humbly, revealed that he would not put himself on the list. He nominated Nikola Jokic as the next great big man to take his place on the all-time list.

The admission from Shaq about his absence from the list was rather surprising. While The Diesel has been humble about his legacy, he has often criticized modern NBA big men for their playstyle. However, Jokic is one of O’Neal’s favorite players in the league and he believes that the Serbian big man has the potential to leapfrog him.

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Nikola Jokic dominates his way to the top of MVP Ladder

The Denver Nuggets had a slow start to the season but have since picked up pace rapidly. They are on a five-game win streak, with a 7-3 record after beginning the season 2-3. During this stretch, Nikola Jokic has been playing some of the best basketball of his career.

The Serbian has averaged 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 11.7 assists in 10 games this season. As of now, He is amongst the league leaders in all three major categories of scoring, rebounding and assists. Jokic has been even more dominant over the Nuggets’ five-game-win streak, averaging 29.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 13.4 assists during that stretch.

He currently leads most MVP boards. He was placed third on last weeks NBA.com MVP ladder and leads the Basketball Reference MVP leaderboard presently. Over the last four seasons, Jokic has won three MVPs, and he looks on track to secure another this season with his incredible performances.