It appears NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is a big fan of Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
So much so, that O'Neal has the Oklahoma City Thunder standout ranked above Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic — a player many have as top five in the world.
"I'm gonna have to take (Gilgeous-Alexander)," O'Neal said on the NBA on TNT pre-game show Tuesday. "Luka is a fabulous player but this kid? He plays the right way [and] gets his teammates involved. ... I’m taking him right now. He’s a hell of a player right now."
Gilgeous-Alexander is having the best season of his young career and is in the thick of the NBA's MVP race with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and reigning MVP Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Thunder guard is third in league scoring, averaging 31.3 points per game, and leads the league in steals with 2.3 per game.
Doncic's season is nothing to laugh at, either. The Slovenian guard sits one spot ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander in the league's scoring race averaging 33.6 points per game.
In terms of team success, that favours the Canadian as Gilegeous-Alexander has the Thunder second in the Western Conference and four games ahead of the Mavericks.
But regardless of whether you agree with O'Neal's assessment, there is one thing that everyone can agree on: The league is in good hands with these two young stars.
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