Would Joel Embiid have a shot vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo 1-on-1? Shaquille O'Neal wants to see it

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Shaquille O’Neal has a few 1-on-1 matchups he’d especially like to see, and one of them happens to be quite the tall task for Joel Embiid. 

In a piece by NBC Sports NBA insider Tom Haberstroh on the story behind a 1-on-1 pay-per-view matchup between O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon that nearly happened in 1995, O’Neal said he’d want to see Embiid face Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I need something that’s even (size),” O'Neal said. “That’s what made me and Hakeem good is that we were 6-11 and 6-10. Giannis is 7-foot and LeBron [James] is 6-9. I want to see Steph [Curry] versus Kyrie [Irving]. [Kevin Durant] and LeBron. [Russell] Westbrook and [James] Harden.”

Antetokounmpo holds a 5-3 head-to-head advantage against Embiid and has averaged 34.0 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists against him. Those numbers aren’t too far off his averages this season, in which he’s made a very strong case for a second consecutive MVP award. Embiid has posted 26.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his career against Antetokounmpo.

Of course, Embiid does have one recent decisive win in a high-profile game against Antetokounmpo. He held the Greek Freak to a season-worst 8-for-27 shooting performance on Christmas (1 for 10 when defended by Embiid), scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Sixers’ 121-109 victory. 

It still appears to be a very difficult matchup for Embiid, or really any player on the planet. Antetokounmpo leads the league in defensive win shares and could become the first player to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season since Olajuwon in 1993-94. 

O’Neal criticized Embiid on TNT in December for not pushing himself to be dominant and said he should model Antetokounmpo’s drive. 

We’re telling you, ‘You can be great. You ain’t playing hard enough.’ Twenty-two ain’t enough to get you to the next level,” O’Neal said. “Do you want to be great or do you want to be good? If you want to be good, keep doing 22 points. You want to be great, give me 28, give me 30. You want to be great, watch Giannis — he wants to be great.

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