Richard Jefferson Gets Into Heated Argument With Fan Over Nikola Jokic Facing Media’s Wrath Incessantly

Nikola Jokić has been a polarizing figure in the NBA over the last 4 years. He’s won 3 MVPs, 1 championship, and 1 Finals MVP, and yet analysts and pundits feel comfortable claiming he’s not deserving of the praise he gets. This situation got especially out of hand after Shaquille O’Neal told him to his face that he didn’t think the Serbian deserved the MVP this season. While Jokic played it off nonchalantly with a joke, fans on social media started calling out analysts, and one even got into an argument with Richard Jefferson on Instagram.

In the comments section of a clip calling out talking heads for downplaying Jokic’s greatness, the former Cavaliers star defended his peers, writing, “You can celebrate Jokic without dissing other people. The media voted him MVP 3 out of 4 years.” The fan responded by jotting down instances of analysts, like O’Neal, propping other players over the Serbian center for the MVP award, and claiming he was robbed last year because Kendrick Perkins was obsessed with Joel Embiid.

The Nuggets’ playoff failures after Jokic’s first two MVP award wins amplified the narrative that he was a regular-season superstar whose style of play wouldn’t work in the postseason. However, he eviscerated his critics’ arguments by leading Denver to their maiden NBA title and winning the Finals MVP.

His performance in the playoffs last year cemented his status as the best player in the league, but O’Neal’s comments reminded fans of the times analysts downplayed his greatness, prompting them to defend the Nuggets superstar.

Shaquille O’Neal loses cool at ‘dummy’ fan

Richard Jefferson wasn’t the only analyst fighting Nikola Jokić’s defense team on social media. Shaquille O’Neal also lashed out at a fan on social media who called him out for saying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserved the MVP award over the Nuggets superstar. The four-time NBA champion shared a post comparing his and Jokic’s traits and claimed the Serbian was one of his favorite players. When a fan asked in the comments section why he disrespected Jokić, O’Neal lashed out and said,

O’Neal did tell Jokić that he was the best center in basketball right after saying that he didn’t deserve the MVP; however, the damage from his initial comment was too big to cover up with a pacifying statement.