Amid the ongoing clash between the world of the NFL and the NBA, thanks to Austin Rivers’ comments, another beef between two of the sports’ best has drawn significant attention on social media. Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe are the juggernauts in question as the two legends are going hammer and tongs over their dispute regarding the NBA MVP.
Recently, Shaq took to social media to post a lengthy summary of what he thinks of Shannon Sharpe, to which the two-time Super Bowl winner responded during his Nightcap podcast. Shannon said, “I’ve never professed that I was as great as Shaq. But what I will say, I got what I got because I worked my a** off. I got everything out of my God given ability. He gave me discipline, he gave me dedication. The way I trained, the way I ate, the way I slept. I never half a**ed it. What I did do, was I maximized that. Nobody will ever say that I was lazy, or I cheated myself.”
Social media took notice of it, and soon, reactions poured in, saluting the classy response from the former NFL player. Here are some of the reactions posted on X (formerly Twitter):
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Things soon went off the rail after Shannon Sharpe disputed Shaquille O’Neal’s take, which led to the Big Aristotle posting this:
Shannon’s reply came after this as the former Lakers center questioned his work ethic and legacy. But what exactly started this beef? To find the answer, one has to go back to Wednesday when the NBA declared Nikola Jokic the 2024 NBA MVP award winner.
What Did Shaquille O’Neal Say About Nikola Jokic?
On Wednesday, Nikola Jokic won his 3rd NBA MVP in the last four years by beating Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Luka Doncic. The Denver center linked up with the crew of NBA On TNT after the announcement but was faced with a critical Shaquille O’Neal.
Mentioning he loves Jokic for being the vice-president of the “Big Man Alliance” (Shaq being the president), the 4-time NBA champion went on to say, “I want you to be the first to hear this from me, but I believe SGA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) should have clinched the MVP.” The player-turned-analyst also said that Shai was the obvious winner for him due to the numbers on the table and the OKC’s top seed.
As a vocal analyst, Shannon Sharpe disputed the NBA Hall of Famer and said, “Shaq should have five MVPs. He sees a guy like Nikola Jokic that’s not as dominant as him, gets three (MVP awards) in four years, I think a part of Shaq is envious of that.”
The Big Diesel took his time to respond to Sharpe, and knowing Shaq’s mean streak regarding online feuds, he will not rest anytime soon.
