“DeMar DeRozan is playing great but he’s not the best player in the world!”: Shaquille O’Neal gets in a heated discussion with Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley over the MVP race

Akash Murty | 18/02/2022
"DeMar DeRozan is playing great but he's not the best player in the world!": Shaquille O'Neal gets in a heated discussion with Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley over the MVP race

The 2022 MVP conversation leaves Shaquille O’Neal mad over Kenny “the Jet” Smith for calling DeMar DeRozan one of the best players in the NBA.

The MVP race of the 2022 season is going to be as nail-biting contest as it has ever been. From Stephen Curry to Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo to DeMar DeRozan everyone is giving a tough fight to Nikola Jokic who defends his crown.

The last year’s reigning MVP is having an even more dominant season, but with Embiid being the top scorer in the league and DeRozan’s resurgence as the most clutch player, it will go down to the wire.

As close as that race gets the more reactions it will get from the NBA community. And who gives a better reaction to any basketball matter than the multiple Sports Emmy Award-winning panel of Turner Sports.

Also read: “DeMar DeRozan, thank you for setting a great example and playing the game with supreme skill”: Kevin Durant takes it to Twitter as the Bulls star surpasses Wilt Chamberlain to create NBA history

“DeMar DeRozan is not the best player in the world”: Shaquille O’Neal

This year’s NBA All-Star Weekend festivities will be held in Cleveland later this week. TNT’s “NBA Tip-Off” show aired live from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday.

Talking about who they think should be leading the MVP race, Shaquille O’Neal went off on Kenny Smith for saying DeMar DeRozan is in the conversation for the best player in the world.

Although clearly, the Jet did not call the Bulls MVP The Best player in the league, Shaq with his usually loud alpha-male voice left the poor man speechless for no reason.

And even if he did so, it wouldn’t be as absurd as how Shaq’s reaction suggested it to be. The man has kept the Bulls as the top seed in the East alongside Miami Heat with a 38-21 record.

Although Embiid has taken a slight edge over Giannis after Thursday’s clash where the former had a 42-14-5 game in response to the 2021 Finals MVP’s 32-11-9, his Sixers still do not have a better record than the Bulls.

Also read: Both Bulls legends indulged in some competitive dancing against one another on Pippen’s 47th birthday

Shaq’s love for big players like himself is no secret to anyone, but the man should be considerate of the player who has kept his team on top even with most of the Bulls’ important players out for more than a month.

The Bulls have played 23 games and won 12 in that period and their 5x All-Star has broken some astonishing records while leading his shorthanded team to hard-fought victories.

 

 

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
Demar Derozan Kenny Smith Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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