"Mad Dog" Russo Aims Again At Shaquille O'Neal By Saying Nikola Jokic Is Better

ESPN's Chris "Mad Dog" Russo think Nikola Jokic has already surpassed NBA great Shaquille O'Neal

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is perhaps receiving a taste of karma. 

He recently admitted he always felt he was better than the great centers before him like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Now, O'Neal finds himself on the receiving end of these debate. 

This week, ESPN analyst Chris "Mad Dog" Russo said Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is already a better player than O'Neal. He made the comments on an segment during First Take.  

“Jokic might be, at the end of the day, the greatest center in the history of the NBA," Russo said. "He’s better than Shaq, I’ll tell you that right now. Not just Shaq, he’s better than Malone and Olajuwon.”

Jokic has already won two MVPs, winning his first championship last year against the Miami Heat. He's fourth all-time with 126 triple-doubles. O'Neal has just one MVP, but won three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Heat. 

While O'Neal was more dominant as a scorer, Jokic makes up for it with versatility. 

The claim is a legitimate argument but it also could be Russo just taking another advantage to criticize O'Neal.

Last month, he said the Orlando Magic should not have retired O'Neal's jersey because he wasn't there long enough and never won a title there. Last December Russo called O'Neal the fifth-best center in league history.

So maybe this is just personal. 

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Shandel Richardson in the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com