Shaquille O'Neal has heavily criticized Shannon Sharpe after he insinuated that the NBA legend was "envious" of Nikola Jokić in a recent interview.
In a recent episode of Nightcap, Sharpe had some words for Shaq. "Shaq should have five MVPs. He sees a guy like Nikola Jokić that’s not as dominant as him and gets three MVPs in four years... I think a part of him is envious of that," he said in a chat referring to Shaq's recent chat with Jokić, who just earned his third NBA MVP title. Sharpe suggested that Shaq never gets brought up in the conversation when it comes to the greatest NBA players of all time, but if he had his work ethic that might have been different.
In the interview, Shaq said to Jokić's face that Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was more deserving of the award. In a response shared on Instagram, Shaq posted a Google search result that showed that Sharpe is ranked No. 51 and tore into the former NFL star.
"You took me sticking up [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] ask jealousy of joker. shows how smart you are and how you say anything to get clicks," wrote Shaq. "so here’s some click bait for you. if you ain’t ranked in the top ten in your profession , then you can’t speak on Me. don’t forget i know what you did to get were you at. me jealous, sounds like you jealous. i kno you tryna stay relevant by gossiping on your podcast. we don’t believe you. you need more people and in case you forgot. 4 rings three finals Mvp top 50 and top 75. google me. and to b quite frank all this new success you got, you still under me. u don’t kno my work ethic."
Shaq claimed that he works less than Sharpe, but still makes more money than he ever will. "if you need help making money it’s better ways than gossiping. i’m to old for this shit love always the most dominant big man ever who never took it serious," he continued. "remember i don’t know you. and in the words of @skipbayless im better than you. #g14classification i have it, you don’t, not in my profession. and your goat debate , never wanted to be the goat i wanted to be who you should greet me as THE MOST DOMINANT EVER. #theapexpredator."
In a follow-up post, he added, "The daddy don't usually respond but I got time today."
He also shared the moment in question that Sharpe took issue with. "Wait til i get up from my nap and here my last response on this," he wrote. "this is so fun did we just become best friends."
Shaq teased he has a mixtape coming soon.
Sharpe has since responded on a new episode of Nightcap.
"I've never professed that I was as great as Shaq," he said. "But what I will say, I got what I got because I worked my ass off. Now Shaq has been the one to say it, that he didn't work as hard, he didn't train as hard, he didn't eat as well as he should have. Shaq is the one that anytime someone wins an MVP, he talks about how he should have been the MVP over Steve Nash."
Sharpe went on to suggest that Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates, and many others are better NFL tight ends than he ever was. "I'm cool, I got no problem," he continued. "You know why I got no problem with giving people credit? Because I got everything out of my god-given ability."
Shaq returned on Friday afternoon with a diss track to Sharpe.
Complex broke down the 25 most entertaining personalities in sports media last year, with Shannon Sharpe landing at the top spot. Not far behind was Stephen A. Smith and Charles Barkley in second and third, respectively, while Shaq landed at No. 5.
