The NBA Finals are underway. As of this posting date, the Denver Nuggets lead the series 1-0, after a strong game against the Miami Heat in the Mile High City. A powerful performance from big man Nikola Jokić earned some high praise from our favorite big, Shaq.
The man they call The Joker has already been in a few great on-air exchanges with O’Neal in pre and post-game interviews, usually through TNT’s Inside the NBA program. During this Finals, Shaq has himself a courtside seat. He’s providing commentary for the NBA-TV network, and he’s also apparently got access to really good seats for the game.
For everyone watching the game live in Denver and on TV, they saw Nuggets dominate the Heat with an impressive 104–93 Game 1 win. For Joker, the game marked his ninth-playoff triple-double double. Very impressive.
After the game, commentator and former player Grant Hill asked Jokić about growing up in the game, and who – if anyone – he modeled his game after. Serious or kidding, Jokić gave a shoutout to none other than O’Neal.
With O’Neal in the studio with Hill, the Denver star said, “I think it’s Shaq.” He and the rest of the NBA TV crew had a big laugh over the comment, but it appeared to be genuine. O’Neal replied, “Means a lot. Thank you, brother.”
If you’ve seem Shaq’s commentary this season on Inside the NBA (we know you have!), you know that O’Neal has dished out plenty of tough love on other big men in the game. Still, he had nothing but praise after watching the Jokić performance for the night, which included 27-points, 10-rebounds and 14-assists in 40 minutes of playing time.
Even Shaq knows he’s direct with his fellow bigs: “One last thing, I don’t give a lot of props to a lot of big guys, but I give you all the props in the world, brother. Very, very, very, impressive to watch,” he said. “Thank you, Shaq, that means a lot,” Jokić replied.
O’Neal even went a step further. After the interview, he “officially” inducted Joker into his very un-official “Big Man Alliance.”
“I give it up to you, big man, great game. And you know what? You are now a member of the Big Man Alliance,” said O’Neal as he waved his arms to simulate knighting Jokić.
Seems like Jokić and the rest of his Denver teammates are primed and ready for action in these Finals. They’ve had rest and came out hot in Game One. As for the Miami Heat, they had a very challenging seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, and were probably still worn out a bit as they entered the Finals.
