For greater than twenty years, debates concerning the best facilities in NBA historical past have usually come down to 1 query: how would trendy stars cope with prime Shaquille O’Neal? Former NBA guard Nick Van Exel made his place clear throughout a current look on the Out The Mud Podcast, arguing that neither Nikola Jokic nor Draymond Inexperienced would have a solution for the Corridor of Fame heart.
Van Exel, who performed alongside O’Neal with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 1998, centered his argument on the bodily calls for of defending one of the vital dominant inside scorers the league has ever seen.
“Joker is chilly,” Van Exel mentioned, by way of HoopsHype, praising Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. “However Joker can’t guard Shaq within the publish. Prefer it’s that easy.”
The dialogue started with Van Exel evaluating the problem of defending a dominant low-post scorer versus a perimeter-oriented offensive star. His level was easy: groups may stay with contested soar photographs, however prime O’Neal compelled defenses to ship further assist due to his potential to attain effectively close to the basket.
That evaluation is supported by O’Neal’s manufacturing all through his profession. Throughout 19 NBA seasons, the 7-foot-1 heart averaged 23.7 factors, 10.9 rebounds and a couple of.3 blocks whereas capturing 58.2% from the sphere. Throughout his peak years, he routinely overwhelmed opposing frontcourts with a mixture of dimension, energy and contact across the rim.
O’Neal’s most dominant marketing campaign got here in 1999-00, when he received the NBA MVP award after averaging 29.7 factors, 13.6 rebounds and three.0 blocks per recreation whereas capturing 57.4% from the sphere. He completed second in Defensive Participant of the Yr voting that season and led the Lakers to the primary of three consecutive championships.
Van Exel argued {that a} playoff sequence would amplify O’Neal’s benefit. He advised that repeatedly battling the four-time champion within the publish would steadily put on down opponents, decreasing their effectiveness on the offensive finish as a sequence progressed.
The previous All-Star additionally dismissed the notion that Inexperienced may deal with the project alone. Whereas praising Inexperienced’s defensive accomplishments and affect, Van Exel maintained that O’Neal represented a very completely different problem than the small-ball facilities and versatile huge males Inexperienced has efficiently guarded all through his profession.
“Draymond, you possibly can’t guard Shaq,” Van Exel mentioned. “Draymond couldn’t guard Shaq.”
