I Cannot Believe Shaq Gave Up His Nickname

This may seem like nothing, but this is a big deal. How can we forget how much of an issue Shaq had with Dwight Howard when he tried to steal the Superman nickname? Pretty sure it started an entire beef war between the two. Everyone knows Shaq is Superman so I did always think it was a little weak that Dwight tried to steal it. I get they were both big, dominant centers in Orlando, but that was lame. Also, if you DO want to be Superman, it has to be given to you like that video above. Sure it’s a little silly that grown men got so upset over a made up nickname, but this is the NBA after all

Now in terms of Giannis, he is for sure a player worthy of this name. The man is about as unstoppable as Superman, especially in the paint. Giannis leads the NBA in points in the paint with 18.9 a night and if you look at the top 5 and it’s all centers and then Giannis and LeBron. The way he gets into the paint at will is pretty impressive, and then once he’s at the rim he just dunks all over you

Much like Superman he does have his own kyrptonite, which is outside shooting, but that almost never comes into play. Not when he can just take three steps and be at the rim where he is going to win that matchup almost every single time. Personally though, if we’re evaluating the nicknames, I think I’m leaning more towards The Greek Freak than Superman. Whenever I hear that I can’t stop my brain from thinking Shaq, so while I commend him for being generous and officially allowing Giannis to have his name, I don’t think it’s the best fit. Shaq is for sure one of the authoritative figures when it comes to this stuff, remember he was the one who named Paul Pierce “The Truth”

I mean let’s face it, as dominant as Giannis is in the paint and at the rim, he’s not Shaq level dominant. That was a whole different level that we won’t ever see again in my opinion, and why there can only be one true Superman.