Things are getting a bit steamy in the NBA analyst community at the moment. Seemingly out of nowhere, it appears that Shannon Sharpe and Shaquille O’Neal have gotten into a little scuffle with each other. And weirdly enough, it all started with Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić winning the 2024 NBA MVP award.
Advertisement
Handed the responsibility of handing the award to the victor, Shaq went just a tad off script. Talking about how he was snubbed twice before choosing to appreciate Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the presentation, he said, “You know I love you [Nikola Jokić], you’re the best player in the league… I wanted you to hear it from me first… I thought SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] should’ve been the MVP!” [per Bleacher Report].
"You're the best player in the league… I thought SGA should've been the MVP"
Shaq told Jokić he's best player in league but thought SGA should have won MVP 👀 pic.twitter.com/HM8lL0qtje
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 9, 2024
When he heard it, Jokic admirably chose to shrug it off with a light-hearted joke, something Shaq clearly appreciated. However, as one might expect, many were outraged by O’Neal’s actions.
While there have been countless reactions to this, they all seem to boil down to the same thing – nothing wrong with the opinion, but why say it then specifically?
Former NFL man turned analyst, Shannon Sharpe seems to agree with this notion too. However, while just about everyone else was a bit straightforward with their detraction, the 55-year-old took a slightly different approach to the whole ordeal.
He decided to go into O’Neal’s NBA career, pointing at having been lazy then, and jealous now because ‘The Joker’ has won the MVP award two more times than he could. Further, he even talked about how Shaq should’ve been in the GOAT conversation, but just didn’t have the conviction to do it.
“He might never admit this, but I think Shaq see these guys these MVPs have him a little envious… I understand Shaq got four titles, three finals MVPs… but Shaq know deep down that we should be having a discussion for GOAT Shaq!”
With this little take, Shannon Sharpe seems to have poked the bear. And sure enough, the bear bared his vicious claws… and then used them to put up a post on Instagram to express just how infuriated he was.
View this post on Instagram
“you took me sticking up @shai ask jealousy of joker. 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… i kno you tryna stay relevant by gossiping on your podcast… u don’t kno my work ethic. but according i work less than you but im worth more than you. make it make sense… #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…”
The massive caption expressed his belief on how Shannon Sharpe has no right to speak about his career since he isn’t in the top 50 of his sport [NFL]. Further, he expressed his disgust at the notion that he was jealous before he essentially stomped on him by saying that he works harder and earns more money than him.
To conclude this mini paragraph of his, he expressed how he never wanted to be held as the Greatest of All Time, but rather, the Most Dominant of All Time, before writing, “G 14 Classification I Have it you don’t, not in my profession”.
Shaq would later also add yet another post explaining why he responded in the first place.
View this post on Instagram
“the daddy don’t usually respond but i got time today.”
Admittedly, this seems like a situation that has been painted a lovely shade of grey. Shaquille O’Neal was undoubtedly wrong to bring up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during Nikola Jokic’s moment of triumph. And of course, it didn’t help that he went on a little rant about how he should have had two more MVPs during his career.
That said, Shannon Sharpe went a bit too far as well. Needling at the Los Angeles Lakers’ incredible career, before almost making it sound inadequate was always going to rub him the wrong way. And to be fair to him, O’Neal has the right to be a little mad about this situation.
The best-case scenario here would be that the two take some time to cool off before looking to put this beef behind them. That said, given just how stubborn most personalities have been known to be for decades now, could anyone ever believe that is how this situation shakes out?
Not us either.
