At 6-foot-5, Houston Rockets veteran P.J. Tucker remains by far the NBA’s shortest starting center. Now 34 years old and with a strong knowledge of basketball history and the sport’s traditional position norms, it seems he’s kept a sense of humor about his unique situation.
On his Instagram account, Tucker shared an edited image of himself guarding 7-foot-1 Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal in the post.
His caption included several crying and laughing emojis, along with hashtags such as #CenterGang and #IJustWannaHoop. Tucker also tagged O’Neal’s official account in the post.
When the Rockets embraced their smaller, more versatile lineup in February by trading traditional center Clint Capela for Robert Covington, that made Tucker the team’s primary post defender.
In the comments section, Covington laughed at Tucker’s post.
Tucker has clearly embraced his unique role on the court, as shown by Houston’s 10-2 record in its first 12 games after the change. But he’s also shown a sense of humor about it off the court, including when Tucker shared an edited photo in February of him playing with stilts.
Fortunately for Tucker, O’Neal is retired. But should the 2019-20 NBA season resume after its current coronavirus (COVID-19) hiatus, Tucker will need to be ready for guarding much taller players such as Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, or Rudy Gobert in the 2020 NBA playoffs.
Even if it takes stilts.
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