Lakers Legend Shaquille O'Neal Lists Nikola Jokic's Biggest Problem on Court

NBA and Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal shares what Nikola Jokic's greatest weakness is out on the court

Apr 11, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts in the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

When debating the best player in the NBA, while Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves his spot in that conversation, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic may continue to hold that spot until someone can put up the stats and accolades he has over the last five years. With three MVPs to his name, the Serbian star might not be done adding those to his trophy cabinet.

With a revamped Nuggets roster heading into the 2025-26 season, Jokic might also have a chance at adding another NBA Finals ring to his collection as he rises up the rankings of the all-time greatest centers. Even though he's arguably the most skilled offensive center in league history, Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal unshockingly shared his confidence in a hypothetical matchup.

Shaquille O'Neal Labels Areas Of Weakness For Jokic

Appearing on the YouTube channel, Ausmerican Aces, on an episode titled "Tommy Talks with Shaquille O'Neal", the NBA Hall of Famer expressed his full-blown confidence in not only scoring on Jokic, but shutting him down on the other end.

“[In the] playoffs, I would probably be 40 [points], 14 rebounds, three blocks. You know, he’s a different player,” O'Neal said. "However, if he's going to guard me one-on-one, hopefully he's not going to be in the game a lot because the first 10 possessions I'm going at him."

Nikola Jokic Vs. the OKC Thunder (Best Defense Ever)

42 PTS
22 REBS
6 AST
2 BLKS
1 STL

60.5% TS
+10 VS A 68 WIN TEAM

BEST IN THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/BiuBTRpbSz

— Swipa (@SwipaCam) May 6, 2025

While Jokic isn't a terrible defender, it's definitely not the strength of his game, and a physically dominant player like O'Neal would likely find his way to success scoring on Jokic in one-on-one scenarios. But if he matched up against Jokic on defense, O'Neal feels he has the keys to success for locking him up, and what might be the Denver star's biggest weakness on the court.

“If he was a post player and I would just have to focus on them, he wouldn’t get that much cuz I saw when he was playing in the post against Dwight Howard, he had problems," O'Neal shared. "But because they run a lot of pick and rolls, you have to help on the guard; they throw it back, he shoots. But him guarding me, I’m averaging 40.”

Is 2024-25 Nikola Jokić the greatest individual season by a player to not win MVP? 🤔🃏

29.6 PPG
12.7 RPG - 2.9 OREB
10.2 APG
1.8 STL
57.6 FG%
41.7 3P% on 4.7 attempts
13.3 +/-
70 GP - 36.7 MP

Notable performances:
• 61/10/10
• 31/21/22
• 35/22/17
• 56/16/8 pic.twitter.com/em6ZgGkluY

— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) September 18, 2025

What makes Jokic such a talented center is his ability to play inside and out, as he shot 41.7% from beyond the arc last season. While O'Neal identifies the post as an area of weakness for Jokic, he references his matchup against Dwight Howard, who was one of the best defensive centers of his era.

So while O'Neal may think Jokic would struggle defending him and scoring on him in the post, the reality is this matchup will never happen. The NBA is a completely different game now than the one O'Neal played in, and Jokic has found a way to blossom into one of the top players in the league by playing to the new style.