Years before the emergence of Jokic and Embiid, Shaq’s forecast looked accurate.

Gone are the days when you see centers playing primarily on the block or patrolling the paint.

The game’s evolution has had most big men taking shots or handling the ball on the perimeter.

Perhaps the last guy to spend most of his time near or inside the shaded area was Shaquille O’Neal.

He predicted as much in an interview with SLAM in 2001.

When asked how he wanted to be remembered after retiring from playing, O’Neal foretold that he would be the “last true center.”

“I want to be remembered as a dominant center, a dominant player, somebody who was very nice at what he did,” Shaq said. “I’ll probably be remembered as the last true center because they don’t breed them like me anymore. A lot of these seven-foot cats come in now and they’re shooting jumpers, playing on the wing. I don’t want to do that. I’ll probably be the last center standing, the last true American center standing.”

O’Neal, an endangered breed

The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s words turned out to be prophetic because only a few centers played bully ball in the 2000s and 2010s.

Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins are just a couple of former big men who had the ability to dominate in the post.

As O’Neal pointed out, prospects with size who had joined the league starting in the early 2000s put more focus on their outside shooting ability.

No one can blame them, though, because hoops and marketing analytics have shown how much value a 3-pointer has, and the past years have proven that notion.

Besides, the Association’s rule changes have given players less incentive to try to spend most of their time inside the paint.

What about Jokic and Embiid?

What “Big Aristotle” didn’t foresee was the emergence of a couple of potential Hall of Famers who are seen as true fives and have taken the league by storm: Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

The rivals have taken home the past four MVP awards by controlling the game in their own ways. However, both have deadly outside shots, so there’s that.

It’s worth noting that Jokic was the first center to win MVP honors since O’Neal claimed it in 2001.

Then, last season, the Denver Nuggets superstar established his place further in the annals of the Association by leading his team to the championship.

Jokic also became the first center to be named Finals MVP since The Diesel. Tim Duncan also clinched two during that span, but the San Antonio Spurs icon is widely considered a power forward.

With the championship, “Superman” welcomed “Joker” to the “Big Man Alliance.” It remains to be seen if Embiid will also join the elite group, but Shaq will likely want to see the Philadelphia 76ers cornerstone pick up a ring first.