Shaq Finally Stopped Hating And Actually Gave A Current Player Some Credit By Stating That Prime Giannis Is Better Than Prime Shaq

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By his own admission, Shaq considers himself a top tier Hater. In some ways, I've always respected that move. He makes it very clear that when it comes to certain players (Rudy Gobert) he will stand ten toes on hating. While it may seem excessive at times, at least he's open and honest about it compared to others who do the same thing, yet try and act like they aren't haters.

You add that with the fact that it feels like it's some sort of law that all former players from the previous eras need to shit on the current era of players, despite how dominant they may or may not be, you can imagine my surprise when I saw a video of Shaq actually giving a current player credit.

Whenever there's a dominant big in today's game and someone asks Shaq how they would compare to him in his prime, the response is always the same. Shaq buries that player. In the case of Rudy Gobert, he gets downright disgusted (for good reason). Now I'm not sure if this means hell is freezing over, or if Shaq is finally willing to stray away from his hater DNA, because when the topic of Giannis came up, Shaq's stance was a bit of a shock

Shaq being humble and giving a current player their flowers? What planet are we on? Maybe I'm just not remembering, but when was the last time we ever heard Shaq say that any current player/big in today's game was on his level, let alone better than Prime Shaq? For those who don't remember, Prime Shaq is arguably the most dominant player in the history of the sport. I know that sounds a tad hyperbolic, but it's not. 

And I suppose if there was someone who might fit the bill in terms of a similar level of dominance, it's hard to argue that Giannis doesn't have a case. He's already off to an insane start this year (had 37/8/7/1/2 last night too)

Shaq is right, they are different players, and if you are someone who still believes Prime Shaq was the more dominant player I wouldn't exactly say you're wrong. I'm just saying it's not as crazy as you think. I do think we're at the point where Giannis' dominance and production is starting to get taken for granted a little bit, and that's crazy to me because what we're seeing frmo Giannis every single night is not exactly normal. I think part of the perception around Giannis has taken a hit given the Bucks' playoff woes since winning their title in 2021, but to me, that's a different argument. If we're talking about someone being an unstoppable basketball force like Prime Shaq was, Giannis is probably the closest thing we have in today's game. 

Is it fair to say that Giannis might be a better overall basketball player, but Prime Shaq was more "dominant"? The way basketball is played today is obviously very different from the early 2000s during Shaq's prime, but I think that's how I would phrase it. I'm fairly certain Giannis would have been just as dominant on those early 2000s Lakers teams, and I think that had Prime Shaq been playing in 2025, his game would have looked much different as well. Remember, ORL Shaq played a lot like how Giannis does now, so imagine that type of player developing in the 2010-2020s compared to the 1990s.

Perhaps we now live in a world where Shaq and other former players can finally stop being weird about the current generation, especially when you're talking about the all-time players like Giannis. Even if you don't agree or believe that deep down Shaq doesn't even believe this, it was still refreshing to hear, considering all Shaq has done since retiring is hate on current players/bigs. Times truly are changing!