Shaq Reveals His Top 5 Current NBA Players

Since his move to the broadcast studio, Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about sharing his opinions. Earlier this week he was back at it, naming his top five current NBA players in a recent appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

All-in-all, Shaq put together a solid list. He named Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid, as his top five right now in the NBA.

Seeing Curry, Durant and James on Shaq’s list comes as no surprise. The trio have arguably been the three most important players in defining the last five years in the NBA and have continued their illustrious careers in 2021. Curry finds himself in a race for the league’s scoring title while Durant and James have their sights set on a championship.

Joel Embiid cracked the top 5, despite Shaq’s blatant criticism of him in the past. However, the 76ers big man has turned himself into an MVP candidate and boosted the franchise to the top of the Eastern Conference in 2021. Earlier this season, O’Neal had a change of opinion and was ready to crown Embiid the league’s MVP, over Nikola Jokic.

“He’s leading, rebounding, playing inside,” Shaq said in late April on TNT. “Out there having fun and his points per game is more than the Joker’s. He’s a little bit better, not a lot better. He would be a 10 and the Joker would be a 9.976241. They’re very, very close.”

The most interesting name to appear on Shaq’s list was Damian Lillard. The Portland Trail Blazers star is having another incredible year, averaging 28.4 points and 7.6 assists, but hasn’t gotten the recognition from around the league. Shaq decided to change that by putting him in his top five.

Here’s a look at Shaq’s full appearance on “All The Smoke.” He gives his list of top five players around the 1:04:23 mark of the podcast during a rapid fire segment.

Although Shaq’s list is pretty well-rounded, there’s a few notable absences. MVP frountrunner Nikola Jokic and reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetounkounmpo both fell short of cracking the elite group. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, who have missed their fair share of games this season, also didn’t make the list.

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