"Shaq should be filing these MFers" - Ex-Nuggets forward gets 100% real on Shaquille O'Neal's 'BBQ chicken' claim about Nikola Jokic
Former Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin agrees that Shaquille O'Neal would dominate Nikola Jokic. Comparisons between stars from different eras never stop, and they never get old. Even some players themselves can't help but talk about who'd be better.
This was the case when O'Neal claimed that the 2001 version of him would dominate 2025 Jokic. Naturally, the comment sparked discussion on who the better center is.
For Martin, there is no doubt that O'Neal, at his peak, would dominate "The Joker." He shared his thoughts on who the better big man is on "Gil's Arena" on Wednesday.
"NBA teams had five bigs trying to guard this particular person we're talking about," Martin said about O'Neal (Timestamp: 56:04).
To further prove his point, Martin named a handful of centers whom he played with that were tasked with stopping O'Neal. Aside from big men he personally played with, Martin also named San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson as another example.
"Think about it, some of the bigs that got jobs," Martin said (Timestamp: 58:26). "That's a lot of people. Shaq should have been filing these m***** f****** on his taxes as dependents."
Kenyon Martin played his rookie season during the 2000-01 season — right in the middle of the LA Lakers' three-peat featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Martin was drafted by the New Jersey Nets, where he played the first four seasons of his career. At the end of the 2003-04 season, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets, where he played for seven seasons.
During the years that Martin was active, O'Neal was named to eight All-Star teams and won two more titles. The accomplishments don't take into account O'Neal's accolades before Martin entered the league, such as his MVP season in 1999-2000.
Also read: "He did it as a Laker" - Shaquille O'Neal fuels LeBron James' statue debate while citing Tim Duncan's chip to validate Bubble championship
Shaquille O'Neal mistakenly calls Nikola Jokic "Slavian" while claiming his dominance
During an episode of "NBA on TNT," Shaquille O'Neal was given an interesting hypothetical scenario by Adam Lefkoe. Who would win between 2001 O'Neal and 2025 Nikola Jokic?
Without hesitation, O'Neal advocated for himself, but he made an error in how he referred to Jokic. Initially, he named a country that doesn't exist.
"Slavian chicken, or wherever he's from," O'Neal said.
Lefkoe corrected him by indirectly asking if he meant "Slovenian."
"Slovenian chicken," O'Neal replied, correcting himself.
Lefkoe once again proceeded to correct O'Neal while he was explaining what he would do to Jokic.
Nikola Jokic, a native of Sombor, Serbia, is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season. As usual, he has been putting up unbelievable numbers on a game-to-game basis.
This season, he is on pace to finish the year averaging a triple-double. With only five games left on the Denver Nuggets' regular season schedule, his numbers are at 29.7 points, 12.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists.
As for Shaquille O'Neal, his career-high in dimes per contest was in 1999-2000, when he averaged 3.8 per game. That year, he led the league in scoring with 29.7 ppg while he also grabbed 13.6 rpg.