How many Years of Shaq would you take over ’22 Nikola Jokic?

[Matt15]

Title

[falcolombardi]

2000 i would feel good about, every other season between health ot weaker effort is up in the air

[frica]

None, he'd get slaughtered in the P&R just as hard if not more

[70sFan]

Likely 2000 and maybe 2001, that's it. Shaq never had to deal with as horrible supporting cast as Jokic this season. Jokic played brilliant basketball in that series.

Before anyone saying that Shaq would never lose so easily against these Warriors teams - Shaq teams lost even quicker in 1994 and 1996-99. Some of teams that eliminated Shaq were superior to Warriors (1996 Bulls, maybe 1999 Spurs as well) but some definitely not (1994 Pacers in particular).

[No-more-rings]

I think 2000-2003.

[Jaivl]

2000, and that's due to defense. Maybe 2001.

[Stalwart]

It depends on the era were playing in. None of us have a clue how Shaq or Jokic would look in each other's respective eras.

[70sFan]

2000, and that's due to defense. Maybe 2001.

Do you think Shaq was significantly better defender in 2000 than in any other season? To be honest, I am not impressed with Shaq's defense even in 2000.

[70sFan]

It depends on the era were playing in. None of us have a clue how Shaq or Jokic would look in each other's respective eras.

That's why you should compare them within their eras. Who would you take?

[70sFan]

I think 2000-2003.

What's 2003 case over 2022 Jokic?

[No-more-rings]

I think 2000-2003.

What's 2003 case over 2022 Jokic?

Because looking at the numbers, Shaq still had basically the same playoff ability he did the few years before. They lost in the 2nd round, but that doesn’t seem like Shaq’s fault, more their lack of depth at that point.

If Shaq still has 98% of his peak playoff ability, i don’t much care if he misses 15 regular season games.

[Stalwart]

It depends on the era were playing in. None of us have a clue how Shaq or Jokic would look in each other's respective eras.

That's why you should compare them within their eras. Who would you take?

Well then Shaq of course. He's a proven commodity. We don't know what Jokic looks like on the big stage, with expectations, and under pressure.

[70sFan]

I think 2000-2003.

What's 2003 case over 2022 Jokic?

Because looking at the numbers, Shaq still had basically the same playoff ability he did the few years before. They lost in the 2nd round, but that doesn’t seem like Shaq’s fault, more their lack of depth at that point.

If Shaq still has 98% of his peak playoff ability, i don’t much care if he misses 15 regular season games.

Do you think Shaq was significantly better postseason performer than Jokic? Nikola was quite remarkable in that series, despite 5 games loss.

[70sFan]

It depends on the era were playing in. None of us have a clue how Shaq or Jokic would look in each other's respective eras.

That's why you should compare them within their eras. Who would you take?

Well then Shaq of course. He's a proven commodity. We don't know what Jokic looks like on the big stage, with expectations, and under pressure.

Jokic was under pressure all series long now, I think he did anything he could.

[No-more-rings]

What's 2003 case over 2022 Jokic?

Because looking at the numbers, Shaq still had basically the same playoff ability he did the few years before. They lost in the 2nd round, but that doesn’t seem like Shaq’s fault, more their lack of depth at that point.

If Shaq still has 98% of his peak playoff ability, i don’t much care if he misses 15 regular season games.

Do you think Shaq was significantly better postseason performer than Jokic? Nikola was quite remarkable in that series, despite 5 games loss.

Well I wouldn't say significantly better, I don't think you can say anyone in history is "significantly better", the guy just put up almost a 33 PER in both the regular season and playoffs. Offensively he's the real deal, I still think even with Shaq's weaknesses on defense, he's a better defender than Jokic. Shaq's offense is still monstrously impactful, even if it's not quite Jokic level. Even in 2003 Shaq was leading the league in ORAPM.

[Jaivl]

2000, and that's due to defense. Maybe 2001.

Do you think Shaq was significantly better defender in 2000 than in any other season? To be honest, I am not impressed with Shaq's defense even in 2000.

Yeah, I'm not that impressed either, he's slow, he can easily be caught out of position, and him being so insecure to the point of being afraid at contesting shots at the rim if he had the slightest disadvantage (see: 2022 Embiid, Joel) is the icing on the cake.

But I'd say he was still a clearly better defender than Jokic at his peak, just by virtue of being scary huge and born in the right era.

[70sFan]

Because looking at the numbers, Shaq still had basically the same playoff ability he did the few years before. They lost in the 2nd round, but that doesn’t seem like Shaq’s fault, more their lack of depth at that point.

If Shaq still has 98% of his peak playoff ability, i don’t much care if he misses 15 regular season games.

Do you think Shaq was significantly better postseason performer than Jokic? Nikola was quite remarkable in that series, despite 5 games loss.

Well I wouldn't say significantly better, I don't think you can say anyone in history is "significantly better", the guy just put up almost a 33 PER in both the regular season and playoffs. Offensively he's the real deal, I still think even with Shaq's weaknesses on defense, he's a better defender than Jokic. Shaq's offense is still monstrously impactful, even if it's not quite Jokic level. Even in 2003 Shaq was leading the league in ORAPM.

So you think 2003 Shaq was comparably good offensively to Jokic? Or do you think even that version of Shaq was clearly better defensively than Jokic? I'm not sure I'd agree on the second point.

[Homer38]

2000 and 2001...I don't think 2003 can have a argument,he was so much out of shape that Shaq was out for the first 12 games and the big reason why the lakers were 11-19 after 30 games.

[70sFan]

2000, and that's due to defense. Maybe 2001.

Do you think Shaq was significantly better defender in 2000 than in any other season? To be honest, I am not impressed with Shaq's defense even in 2000.

Yeah, I'm not that impressed either, he's slow, he can easily be caught out of position, and him being so insecure to the point of being afraid at contesting shots at the rim if he had the slightest disadvantage (see: 2022 Embiid, Joel) is the icing on the cake.

But I'd say he was still a clearly better defender than Jokic at his peak, just by virtue of being scary huge and born in the right era.

I love your short, yet such accurate description

Shaq also had horrible defensive fundamentals, he often fouled in situations he shouldn't, his footwork was poor and his timing/technique during contesting shots was completely abysmal (often jumping too early, missing the ball with his arms, not contesting vertically). It's not about laziness or slow feet, Shaq had a lot of bad habits on defensive end.

You are probably right that his size and athleticism alone made him more impactful defender than Jokic (only in his best seasons though).

[Stalwart]

That's why you should compare them within their eras. Who would you take?

Well then Shaq of course. He's a proven commodity. We don't know what Jokic looks like on the big stage, with expectations, and under pressure.

Jokic was under pressure all series long now, I think he did anything he could.

He was not under much pressure at all. Definitely not compared to the NBA finals.