Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid is set to play in his first regular season game in eight months when the team takes on the Boston Celtics in their season-opening game on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Embiid, his recent stretch of inactivity due to injury has made NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal skeptical of what kind of player he currently is.
Embiid played in just 19 games last season due to a knee injury that ultimately led to the 76ers deeming him “medically unable to play”.
Additionally, when he was on the court last year, his play regressed pretty drastically, averaging just 23.8 points per game with a 44.4 percent field goal percentage on the year. For comparison, the former NBA MVP averaged 34.7 points per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the 2023-24 season.
More news: Steve Kerr Sends Jonathan Kuminga Message After Warriors’ Opening Night Win
As a result, Shaquille O’Neal is no longer willing to put Embiid in the conversation with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić as one of the best centers in the NBA, claiming that Jokić has now far surpassed Embiid as the league’s best center by a wide margin.
“He’s just been unconsidered for the NBA’s top big man,” said O’Neal on his podcast, “The Big Podcast With Shaq”. “He’s off the list now. You can tell him I said that. Tell him I said it. Remember two, three years ago, it was him and Joker, they were neck and neck. Joker has him by far now; it’s disappointing.
“I hope he hears us, and I hope he gets mad. I hope he dominates, but that hasn’t been the case. When I come at the guys, they want to take it personally. But I am just trying to motivate them. So if I say something and you go, ‘Oh, Shaq this, Shaq that. I know you are soft.'”
Loading twitter content…
More news: Jalen Brunson Gives Concerning Update Before Knicks Season Opener
Based on the limited court time Embiid took part in last season, it’s hard to argue with O’Neal’s assessment that Jokić has looked like the far better player.
With that being said, Embiid’s track record of individual dominance certainly shows that he has the potential to return to form after a lackluster 2024-25 season. So it will certainly be interesting to see whether the former MVP can potentially use O’Neal’s criticisms as fuel to show that he is every bit as impactful as Jokić when healthy.
For more NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
