Would you take prime Hakeem/Shaq/Duncan over prime Jokic today?

[fsvr54]

This new LeBron and JJ podcast is already better than The Last Dance propaganda series btw

Lay off the crackpipe and Lechina's dick. Worst player of all time

[FKAri]

As good as Jokic is as a playmaker the style of play and era makes him look better than he actually is.

Another thing nobody talks about is the improved numbers across the board those guys would have especially the assist numbers considering the amount of shooters they would have playing with them.

Shaq could easily go for 35ppg 13rebs 6asts 3blks in his prime today why would Jokic's playmaking make him better?

You think Shaq fits Denver better than Jokic? I think not. That team is so well tuned for Jokic.

Jokic's pure scoring ability is good but not on the level of the guys mentioned. However, his ability to make quick, smart reads and passes allows him to avoid the biggest poison to modern big man post play: The ability for a zone defense to get you to pick up the dribble without leaving their man completely open. No other big in NBA history can punish help like this. His ability to shoot also provides space for teammates to make their own plays without him clogging up the lane. And ironically since other bigs can't do this, they've been replaced by more versatile 4's which makes it even easier for Jokic to attack in single coverage.

What makes Jokic great today doesn't work as well 30 years ago because of the way defenses worked. The ability to make a quick move to score in the post was more valuable.

Shaq in today's league would ideally be leaking out and pinning someone under the basket and getting an easy dunk every time he wants. So his performance depends a lot on his conditioning. Whereas a lazy 2002+ Shaq in today's league is going to be less effective on offense than Embiid currently is. And he's going to be much worse on defense than he was in his era. How he's officiated will also heavily swing his value and that's up to if Adam Silver likes what he sees or not(Shaq was never officiated fairly even in his career - either he had too much freedom or too little). Shaq is a complete wildcard that is hard to predict.

Like I said earlier I'd take Shaq and Hakeem over Jokic on a brand new team today. And I'd pray to God Shaq takes conditioning seriously and make sure to be friendly with Adam Silver and the refs.

As good as Jokic is as a playmaker the style of play and era makes him look better than he actually is.

This is a strange statement. Everyone is a product of the rules of the game. Allowing only 6 fouls per player instead of 40 made Shaq look better than he actually is. Hack-a-Shaq every possession would put the team's offensive output below the 2024 Pistons.

[Reggie43]

Shaq was routinely destroying double teams in his prime with quick moves in the post, he could beat his man down the court for an easy dunk but he doesnt need to rely on that to score. Probably half of Shaqs moves was purely off natural quickness/agility where he beats his man even before the double team comes or actually shooting over double teams with his jump hook after creating separation or even dunking his way through lol

[SATAN]

Lay off the crackpipe and Lechina's dick. Worst player of all time

^^Shortest ish poster of all time.

[StrongLurk]

I'm taking Jokic

[WhiteKyrie]

Of course. But Jokic is nice. Not my cup of tea in terms of his game but he’s obviously awesome

[brownmamba00]

Yeah I would. All of those bigs play defense. Hakeem and Duncan are the best defensive anchors in the history of the game.

Joke is great though he could end up being the best but honestly I doubt that.

[SouBeachTalents]

In this era you could argue Jokic would be the best of that group, but going back to the 90's/early 00's, I'm taking Hakeem & Shaq over him.

[tpols]

In this era you could argue Jokic would be the best of that group, but going back to the 90's/early 00's, I'm taking Hakeem & Shaq over him.

Jokics passing ability would be greatly hindered with 90s shooting teammates for sure. But Shaq and Hakeem weren't elite passers even as it applies to today's game. Hakeem was known as a black hole player who would get tunnel vision for scoring when he caught the entry pass. Jokic mind and team offense IQ is on another level.

[Reggie43]

Hakeem is arguably the greatest defender of all time. Does anyone think Jokic's passing is enough to counter Hakeem's overwhelming advantage at the other end of the floor?