Former Denver Nuggets players Austin Rivers and Bruce Brown claimed in an article for The Athletic that the first thing they heard after arriving for practise in Denver was to keep their hands ready. Brown and Rivers were both perplexed by the suggestion at first, but caught on after fumbling one or two of Nikola Jokic’s surgically threaded passes during a practise scrimmage. Over the last few years, Jokic has established himself as one of the league’s most elite passers, even giving the league’s best guards a run for their money. Shaquille O’Neal, on the other hand, recently used a clip with an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant to claim that he was a better passer than the Joker back in the day.

Based on the needs of the modern NBA, Nikola Jokic has transformed the traditional centre role into that of a point centre. Along with his exploits in the paint, the 28-year-old Serbian has honed his perimeter shooting and mid-range jumpers. To top it all off, the Joker has mastered the ability to provide video game assists to his teammates in order for them to make open shots. The combination of all of this has rendered him nearly unguardable, as evidenced by his performance in the 2022-23 season.

Shaquille O’Neal claims that in his prime, he was a better passer than Nikola Jokic.

Shaquille O’Neal recently commented on an Instagram video of himself making a clever pass in the paint to a rookie Kobe Bryant back in 1996. “Rookie Kobe, Shaq pass better than Joker, no cap,” the caption read. In the comments section, Shaq agreed with the caption, writing, “yes i do.”

Shaq is without a doubt the most dominant player to ever play in the NBA. In fact, he was the dominant presence in the Lakers’ three-peat season from 2000 to 2002, putting up all-time postseason numbers. However, in his postseason career, the big man never averaged more than 4.6 assists per game. During his championship campaigns, Shaq averaged 3.2 dimes per game.

Jokic, on the other hand, averaged 9.5 assists per game in the Nuggets’ 2023 Championship season. As a result, Shaq’s argument is devoid of empirical support. However, one could argue that the Lakers legend was a better passer than the Joker; it’s just that the game didn’t require his services as a passer at the time. However, when the impact of Jokic’s death is considered, that argument falls flat.

The Nuggets won thanks to Jokic’s elite passing.

One of the most difficult challenges teams had this year in trying to contain the Denver team was preventing open shots from being made by Nuggets players. In fact, opposing coaches were forced to choose between allowing Nikola Jokic to go on a scoring binge or allowing open shots from the rest of the Nuggets squad.

Because even when teams double-teamed Jokic inside the arc, he was able to thread precise passes to open teammates around the perimeter. Covering up gaps, on the other hand, allowed the two-time NBA MVP to run circles in the paint.

While Shaq’s passing ability is nothing to laugh at, it’s difficult to see him having the same impact on the game with his assists. As a result, the big guy’s assessment on this occasion may be a little off.