SHAQUILLE O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe have been taking jabs at each other during Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic’s MVP win.
The two legendary athletes-turned-sportscasters’ fight turned personal after Shaq told the NBA star he didn’t deserve the award.
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Jokic, 29, won his third MVP title, beating out Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic for the honor.
The Serbian big man won by a considerable margin, receiving 79 of the 99 first-place votes in MVP voting and accumulating 286 more points than Gilgeous-Alexander in second place.
But while O’Neal, 52, congratulated Jokic on the award during Wednesday’s Inside the NBA, he told the Nuggets leader that SGA should have received the trophy.
“I want to congratulate you, but I want you to hear it from me first,” said the TNT Sports star.
“I thought SGA should have been the MVP, that’s no disrespect to you, but congratulations.”
O’Neal received a lot of criticism for his comment to Sharpe, 55, claiming that the Los Angeles Lakers legend appears to be jealous of Jokic’s success in recent years.
“Shaq should have five MVPs,” the NFL Hall of Famer said in his Night drink podcast Thursday.
“He sees a guy like Nikola Jokic who is not as dominant as him and gets three [MVPs] in four years.
“But see, when you are historically excellent, they talk about you as a great basketball player.
“And Shaq is never mentioned. And I think a part of Shaq is jealous of that.”
Sharpe said that in his eyes, O’Neal’s only MVP win disqualifies him from the NBA GOAT conversation.
“If he had my work ethic he would have 40,000 points,” the First Take star added.
Shannon didn’t have to wait long for Shaq’s response.
The Inside the NBA analyst said the NFL confused Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense with Jokic’s jealousy.
Shannon Sharpe’s playing career
Shannon Sharpe was a three-time Super Bowl champion before his career in heavy media.
The former tight end played in the NFL from 1990 to 2003 – mainly for the Denver Broncos.
He was part of the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowl championship teams, as well as the 2001 Baltimore Ravens title-winning team.
Sharpe was an eight-time Pro Bowler and voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He finished with 10,060 yards on 815 receptions and 62 touchdowns.
The former NFL star has had an equally strong career on television screens since retiring.
“Shows how smart you are and how you say anything to get clicks,” O’Neal wrote on Instagram in a post which featured a screenshot of an article ranking Sharpe first among the top 100 NFL characters.
“So here’s some clickbaits for you. If you’re not ranked in the top 10 in your profession, then you can’t talk about me.”
Shaq then hinted that Sharpe is in fact the jealous one in the feud.
“I know you’re trying to stay relevant by gossiping on your podcast. We don’t believe you,” wrote the NBA legend.
“You need more people and in case you forgot, four rings, three finals MVP, top 50 and top 75. Google it.
“And to be frank, all this new success you’ve had, you’re still under my command.
“You don’t know my work ethic, but I agree [sic] I work less than you, but I’m worth more than you. Make it make sense. I love you too.
“If you need help making money, it’s a better way than gossiping. I’m too old for this shit.”
Sharpe reacted to O’Neal’s post on Night drink a few minutes later, clarifying that he never claimed to have reached the same level of greatness as Shaq.
But the retired NFL tight end doubled down on his claim that he maximized his athletic talent with hard work and a professional approach to his career, and the four-time NBA champion did not.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
