During the 2019 NBA All-Star Draft, the Inside the NBA crew tried to get Shaquille O’Neal to correctly pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name, since he was one of the captains for the game. Shaq, understandably, had some difficulty, so Giannis told him, “Just call me Superman.”
It was a beautifully earnest moment from Antetokounmpo, but Charles Barkley pointed out that he might not want to do that, since the last player who tried to call himself Superman was Dwight Howard, who has had a long-standing feud with Shaq. However, not only does Shaq not bear any ill will towards Antetokounmpo, he has willingly bestowed the Superman title upon him. Plus, in an episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the Hall of Fame center acknowledged that the Greek Freak is better than he was at the age of 24.
“He’s better because he has more opportunity to showcase more,” O’Neal said. “I was a post player, and the only thing I was allowed to showcase was my domination. He’s running the floor. I did that early, [but] I stopped doing that because I stopped getting the ball when I ran the floor, so I turned into a half-court dominant player.”
Shaq was much more productive early in his career than Antetokounmpo, but the Milwaukee star entered the league at a younger age and has come on quickly, making it a legitimate debate of which player was better at this age. As O’Neal referenced, the league has changed substantially, allowing Antetokounmpo to show off a more diverse skill set than he was able to during the 1990s. One area where the Bucks forward may be able to distinguish himself from Shaq is by winning the MVP award this year, which Shaq didn’t accomplish until his age-28 season.
Shaq also graced another one of his nicknames on Giannis, saying that he approves of people calling him “The Greek Diesel.”
“I understand Greek mythology,” Shaq said. “I was a Greek god before him, but he’s the Greek god that’s in charge now. Greek Diesel is nice.”
O’Neal is the latest star to demonstrate his approval of Antetokounmpo’s work ethic, as the superstar leads his Milwaukee team to the best record in the league, a year after losing in the first round of the playoffs. He assuredly doesn’t need the blessing of Shaq or any other former stars, but at the very least, it should make watching Inside the NBA more enjoyable for Antetokounmpo.
