Former Lakers Champion Reveals Why Nikola Jokic is 'Not Even Close' to LA Superstar’s Level

This longtime Los Angeles role player has some intriguing words of wisdom about the three-time league MVP.

Mar 24, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left) speaks during ceremony to unveil statue of Los Angeles Lakers former center Shaquille O'Neal at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, winner of three of the last four MVP awards, is unquestionably the best current player in the NBA.

But, to former five-time Los Angeles Lakers champion point guard Derek Fisher's thinking, the 6-foot-11 big man is severely lacking when measured against one of his Hall of Fame teammates — at least, in one particular department.

During an appearance this week on three-time "Showtime"-era Lakers champion shooting guard Byron Scott's podcast "Byron Scott's Fast Break," Fisher explained why, in his mind, Jokic can't hold a candle to Fisher's former teammate Shaquille O'Neal — from a physicality perspective, anyway.

“People have no idea how big and strong Shaquille O’Neal was. Like it’s not even close to any type, like, as Nikola Jokic has been,” Fisher observed. “You have no match-up for Nikola Jokic and everybody knows it and everybody says it. This dude, there is no match-up for this dude. Right? That was Shaq.”

Essentially, the 6-foot-1 Little Rock product is comparing how difficult to cover both MVP centers have been in their respective eras.

This is not necessarily an absolute potshot at Jokic's abilities, just a note on the total physical dominance of O'Neal as a presence. There's a reason O'Neal wanted to call himself "The Most Dominant Ever" throughout his 19-year reign.

O'Neal was the most physically imposing of all the 1990s and early-2000s centers, a hyper-athletic, super-strong force who could out-run any of his opponents during his Orlando Magic days. Yes, his game early on lacked the finesse of Hakeem Olajuwon's or David Robinson's, but by the time O'Neal reached his MVP prime with the Phil Jackson-coached Lakers, competition like Dikembe Mutombo and an aging Patrick Ewing couldn't handle him.

Jokic is a more well-rounded scorer and distributor, yes, but O'Neal was the more imposing force. Jokic contemporaries like Joel Embiid and Victor Wembanyama may be more physically intimidating, but Jokic is the better player (for now).

O'Neal and his Hall of Fame running mate on Los Angeles, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, were so dominant during their eight-year tenure together that it ultimately inspired Fisher to move on in a 2004 summer of change for the Lakers. While O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, Fisher inked a six-season, $37 million free agent deal with the Golden State Warriors.

“I always played with Kobe and Shaq all these great players and I needed to get there and find out how hard it was to play without those guys,” Fisher explained. Fisher was flipped to the Utah Jazz ahead of the 2006-07 season, and due to family health issues he requested to be released so he could sign in a city with better specialists. So he returned to the Lakers on a three-season, $14 million agreement in free agent ahead of Bryant's MVP season and L.A.'s return to the NBA Finals.

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