Just one day later Domantas Sabonis He surpassed Kevin Love as the player with the most consecutive double-doubles in history, Shaquille O’Neal showered the Sacramento Kings star with high praise. During halftime of the Kings-Mavericks game, O’Neal gave Sabonis the great honor of adding him to the “Big Man Alliance.”
The “Big Man Alliance” is a prestigious group of NBA centers of which Shaquille O’Neal is proud to be one of the most distinguished members. With players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Hakeem Olajuwon, among others, being a part of it, Shaq constantly monitors the addition of players to the roster. Fortunately for Domantas Sabonis, he has been approved by the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
“He (Sabonis) is the guy who does everything; he’s definitely in the alliance of the big guys.” Shaq stated.
While the Great Aristotle added the Latvian to this elite group of players, he denied entry to Anthony Davis. However, the reason behind this is that AD is not a traditional hub.
“AD is not a big man, he is a power forward.
Do not do that”. Shaq told Candace Parker.
Shaq confirmed the stars of the “Big Man Alliance” among the current group of players. Nikola Jokic got the nod when he won the 2023 championship. Domantas Sabonis was welcomed into the fold after achieving the impressive feat of a double-double.
The TNT analyst also admitted that Joel Embiid was part of this list. However, it seems surprising that O’Neal incorporated him into the elite group despite having rejected his entry just 9 weeks ago.
Shaquille O’Neal denied Joel Embiid entry into the “Big Man Alliance” 9 weeks ago
Domantas Sabonis has had a tremendous season. However, his joining the “Big Man Alliance” is a surprise.
Just 9 weeks ago, Shaquille O’Neal denied Joel Embiid entry into the same group. Even though the Philadelphia 76ers superstar has a much better resume (one MVP, two scoring titles, five All-NBA team selections and three All-Defensive team selections) than Sabonis, Shaq was only ready to add to Nikola Jokic from the current era to the list.
Alliance.
Shaq even claimed that JoJo needed to win a championship or have an illustrious career with incredible stats like Patrick Ewing to be eligible for a pick. However, since late January, Embiid has only received one All-Star selection, which was expected when O’Neal made the comments.
It seems like the Hall of Famer only added the reigning MVP to the alliance so as not to receive any criticism for giving Sabonis a nod.
