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NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal, Shannon Sharpe Beefing Over Nikola Jokic MVP Comment

Shandel Richardson

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal took a lot of criticism over his interview with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic Wednesday night.

And one of then was former NFL star and current media personality Shannon Sharpe.

O'Neal interviewed Jokic on TNT after he won his third MVP but the conversation turned awkward. O'Neal told Jokic he felt Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should have won the award.

It was Jokic's third time winning, which is what Sharpe felt prompted O'Neal's actions.

“Shaq should have five MVPs,” Sharpe said on the Nightcap podcast. “He sees a guy like Nikola Jokic that’s not as dominant as him, gets three (MVP awards) in four years, I think a part of Shaq is envious of that.”

Sharpe took it even further by saying O'Neal's credentials make it difficult to put him in the greatest of all-time discussion.

“It’s hard for me to put somebody in the GOAT conversation with one MVP,” Sharpe said. “So we going to take somebody with one regular season MVP and put him in front people that got three, that got four, that got five. If he had my work ethic, he had 40,000 points."

It was only a matter of time before O'Neal responded. While O'Neal is often left out of the G.O.A.T debate, he said Sharpe isn't even close to the conversation. He shared an article that listed him as the 11th-best best tight end in NFL history. O'Neal is rarely out of the Top 10 overall NBA players lists.

"gotta be top ten in your profession, before you speak on someone in there profession," O'Neal posted on Twitter.

With these two being among the most outspoken players in sports history, I doubt this is over.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com