Forget Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Forget high-profile sports superstars, politicians and everyone else. Our man Shaq is having a moment – and not a good one – with ESPN commentator Shannon Sharpe, and it’s just crossed a major milestone. Shaq has dropped a new “diss track” about the ongoing beef.
Recently on his own podcast, the former NFL star said it seemed O’Neal was “jealous” of Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. Yikes!
Things got started during the presentation of the Association’s Most Valuable Player Award to Jokic. Interestingly, it happened live on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show, where (as we all know) Shaq is one of the main commentators.
Right there, on live TV, with Joker on the line, Shaq said that yes indeed, he felt Jokic was the best player in the game this season… BUT he also felt that Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (also known as SGA) was actually more deserving of the award.
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
Shaq put it this way: “You know I love you, the best player in the league. I want to congratulate you,” O’Neal said to Jokić during the TNT pregame show. “But I want you to hear it from me first. I thought that SGA should’ve been the MVP. That’s no disrespect to you, but congratulations.”
The reactions were fast in coming, including the one from Shannon Sharpe. On his own “Nightcap” podcast, Sharpe talked about the comments with his show guests, Chad Johnson and Gilbert Arenas. Sharpe said O’Neal’s comments sound like “envy” to him.
Sharpe: “Shaq should have five MVP’s. He sees a guy like Nikola Jokic that’s not as dominant as him and gets three in four years. When you historically great, they talk about you as a great basketball player, the GOAT, and Shaq is never brought up. I think a part of him is envious of that … it’s hard for me to put someone in the GOAT conversation with one MVP.
Then Sharpe followed up with what sounded like a deliberate jab to us: “If Shaq would of had my work ethic, he would have had 40,000 points.” Hmmm….
Not surprisingly, Shaq took the comments personally. He fired back in a lengthy post on his own Instagram page. He wrote:
“You took me sticking up for @shai as jealousy?? shows how smart you are and how you say anything to get clicks. 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 where you at. me jealous lol 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. but according i work less than you but im worth more than you. make it make sense. love you too. if you need help making money it’s better ways than gossiping. i’m too old for this shit. love always, the most dominant big man ever who never took it serious. 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.”
As for Sharpe, it took him zero seconds to reply. “He can take all the shots. Yeah you got more money, yeah you’re more famous than me, yeah you’re more well-known, you’re gonna have more money than I ever have … but nobody will ever say that I was lazy or I cheated myself.”
That led to the track from Shaq. Check the video below for the full track, but we can share a bit. In the tune, Shaq called Sharpe “soft.” He also said the Pro Football Hall of Famer is “beneath” him and “fake.”
Is it over? Hard to say. We’re guessing not quite yet. Stay tuned for all the dissing details!