By: Debadrita Ghosh Image credit: NBA & Twitter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was excluded from Shaquille O'Neal's ranking of the top five players of all time.
After Candace Parker, his co-panelist for Tuesday's "Inside the NBA" broadcast, predicted that Antetokounmpo would end up on his all-time top-five list, Shaq gave a completely unexpected reply to her remark.
Candace Parker said: "Giannis, when it's all said and done, is in my top 5." O'Neal said in reply: “Giannis is the man... I don't have him in my top five, but I'm not discrediting him. He's one of my favorite players he's a great player.”
The age of Giannis Antetokounmpo is only 28. He won the NBA title, was the MVP of the finals, was twice the MVP of the regular season, was named Defensive Player of the Year, and won Most Improved Player of the Year by the age of 26.
In fact, Antetokounmpo's unstoppable force at this point in his career has led to comparisons to an all-time great like LeBron James. He achieved success by being selected for the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
Shaquille O'Neal appears to be a major admirer of NBA players that engage in frequent high-intensity games. If those players, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, are also putting up the numbers, O'Neal hasn't held back in declaring his preference for them.
O'Neal once expressed offense when Dwight Howard referred to himself as "Superman," a nickname the former wore while playing. He readily gave the same nickname to Antetokounmpo. Shaq said: “[Giannis] is a bad boy. Call him superman, just call me Shaq”.
Giannis has an impressive resume that puts him in the top five or ten of all time. But, Shaquille O'Neal has maintained his list so far, leaving Giannis Antetokounmpo off of his top five.
Shaquille O’Neal Once Gave a Huge Compliment to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Called Him the Next Shaq Check it out