Shaq Hands Giannis Antetokoumpo The “Superman” Title

Giannis Antetokoumpo is one of the front runners to potentially win MVP honors in the NBA this season. His Milwaukee Bucks boast the best record in the league and Giannis is living up to his nickname “The Greek Freak.” He is putting up beastly numbers and some of the game’s greats have taken notice. One of the former superstars that are impressed with Antetokoumpo’s game is Shaq, who is considered one of the best to ever play the game. In fact, Shaq, whose nickname was “Superman,” is now passing the “Superman” moniker down to Giannis, saying he’s more deserving.

Per ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq’:

“He’s better and that’s why I gave up my Superman title to him. But you know what? He works hard, he’s a humble kid and works hard. He doesn’t just come and show up and expect people to say: ‘Oh, he’s the next one’. This kid actually works and he’s earned it. He’s deserved it and he’s earned my respect so I’m giving it to him. To answer all the questions: ‘You’re right, the kid is better than me at 24.′ He’s better because he has more opportunity to showcase more. I was a post player and the only thing I was allowed to showcase was my domination but he’s running the floor. I did that early, I stopped doing that because I stopped getting the ball when running the floor so I turned into a half-court dominant player.”

Shaq is obviously a legend of the game with multiple NBA titles under his belt so this kind of praise should go a long way. With the Bucks heavily favored to come out of the East, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Giannis in the finals this year. 

His legacy has only just begun.