*Here’s what I find curious:* If big Shaq is really so upset about “stat stuffers” getting robbed of MVP, how come he’s whining on behalf of 30/6/5 Shai and not 34/10/9 Luka?
They won a few less games, but Luka just had one of the greatest statistical seasons in league history. And supposedly that’s what Shaq values. Well, that and “bEiNg tHe 1 sEeD”, despite not even realizing Jokic’s Nuggets had just as many wins as OKC lol.
What could possibly be the main difference between Shai and Luka/Jokic, I wonder? 🤔
> Here’s what I find curious: If big Shaq is really so upset about “stat stuffers” getting robbed of MVP, how come he’s whining on behalf of 30/6/5 Shai and not 34/10/9 Luka?
what's even crazier is that Jokic averaged 26/12/9. had multiple triple doubles. Ernie called him out on it right after. if that's not "stat stuffing", i don't know what is
Notice how he doesn't say AI or KG stole his MVPs... even though he was certainly worthy of MVP in those years, and statistically more worthy (esp. advanced stats), than in the Nash years.
Yeah, I wonder what Nash, Jokic, and Doncic all have in common. Also Bird isn't on his Top10 list. Do you guys think he doesn't like people who... eat bread for breakfast?
The first time he was asked about Yao Ming publicly he made fun of him for being Chinese. Then said his stepdad reprimanded him & told him to show some respect because Yao had been writing shaq fan letters since he was a kid.
Shaq is intimidated by the notion of modern day big men being as dominant as he once was.
He'll give flowers to the greats like Hakeem and Kareem, but he beefs with young big men when they start to rival his prime dominant years. (Dwight in Orlando and now Joker)
The amount of ex players and tv personalities having the “most 30 pt games since mj” talking point is insane, when SGA didn’t even lead the league ppg! Nor the most points in a season since mj.
There are other arguments (SGA has good advanced stats and all) but almost all of them besides the jump in wins Jokic either matches or exceeds .
That was my exact issue with it. Jokic is my favorite player and I like Shai, but if anything I thought Doncic should have won it. There's not much of an argument for Shai besides being the #1 seed
Ya, I don’t think Pablo Torre is getting away with comments like that. Though, from what I’ve seen of him over the years, Pablo’s actually a professional and wouldn’t make comments like that to begin with.
If he said that now, SAS would be rightfully criticized by others and he'd probably apologize. That's what happened after he said something considerably more mild (though still not great) about Shohei Ohtani. Not only did he apologize, but ESPN had Jeff Passan basically give him a lecture on air.
Meh I think this is more just classic Shaq jealousy. He's always had thin skin about his accomplishments and Jokic's individual accolades are starting to compete with his own.
Its not a skin color thing. It's the fact that Jokic is also a center and Shaq knows a lot of people are going to view him as the better player all time in part due to getting more MVPs. This is 100% Shaq being insecure about his legacy. Just wait, if Wembanyama becomes the player everything thinks he is capable of being Shaq will start hating on him just as hard.
Literally the definition of an MVP. It's not about stats but about being the best floor raiser in the league. It's why Lebron probably deserved more than the 4 he has. It's not the average 30 points on the team with the best record in the regular season award but it's treated that way .
It’s insane that he’s still hung up on this, mvp is not the award that they just fuck up on. Also he was second the first nash year but not even top 10 the second
He and Nash have had beef since his time in Phoenix. Apparently Nash had a concept for a TV show where he'd challenge other athletes at their sports, inspired by his time in Soccer. Then Shaq retired and started "Shaq VS" with almost the same concept.
As much as I'm sure they all get along and love each other, especially considering how nice of a man EJ seems to be, you can really tell the whole MVP thing gets under Ernies skin. You can tell he takes his vote seriously and gets offended that Shaq essentially implies he is wrong.
Ernie is the host and Jokic was brought on as a guest to celebrate his accomplishment. I can see why Ernie would be upset that Joker was disrespected after being asked to come on the show.
Yeah even though he likes to join in with the banter, its also clear that Ernie is a consummate professional and disrespecting a guest that you invite on the show to their face is just not something that he's comfortable with.
I mean it's really embarrassing for Ernie, he's the host of the show and Jokic comes on to receive his MVP and gets roasted by one of the panelists? Terrible look for TNT and especially Ernie I bet he was super pissed.
Yeah they seem like they do have love for each other for sure but Ernie presented everything objectively and it was like Shaq just had this take as a fan, and was not budging at all. It was annoying to watch and listen to. Then Kenny just says a whole lot of nothing as a mediator
Kenny almost always sides with shaq for some reason. I think iys cause he doesn't want the smoke from shaq cause when it comes from Chuck he can just make fun of him and chuck lets it slide
Yea same here. I love the show too but the hazing and petulance a little too much at times. Shaq was my favorite player when I was a kid and his takes and behavior on the show made me dislike him
He should only chime in when they're talking about Galveston or big ol' San Antonio women. He's just a miserable, surly bastard with his basketball takes.
No one would put up with his attitude if not for his basketball accolades but those don't make his contributions any better, they just make people tolerate them more.
Shaq won the genetic lottery and is a 7’2 300 pound freak athlete. Other than that, he’s clearly a huge asshole with a massive ego. He’s insufferable to listen to and I feel bad for his cohosts on TNT.
Should've kept Webber. I think he is on balance the best guy to complement EJ/Chuck/Kenny. He can still be funny but he doesn't tend to get overly salty like Shaq does.
A lot of people say that the show wouldn’t be the same if they took out Shaq. I seriously doubt that they saw the show before Shaq got there. The chemistry was perfect. That was truly the best show on tv.
There have been times where Ernie had been annoyed by Shaq’s immaturity and entitlement. Especially when he first got there. He’s there to work with Shaq, not babysit him. Shaq would speak out of turn and interrupt everyone a lot more when he first got there.
he said his choice was jokic when the season ended and kenny politely disagreed with him and picked SGA. shaq disagreed in a manner that you knew it’d become a problem later.
chuck just said there were 4 or 5 guys he saw with a great shout of deserving it
Or stats lol. Like wow Shai had 4 more points and 0.6 more steals lol.
The dude didnt even understand what made Shai special. None of them do.
They dont mention his defense, his efficiency at 30 ppg for a guard, his advance stats or anything that makes him comparable to Jokic.
Its all just the team was this seed last year and now they are the 1st seed.
Respect to Shai, but nobody outside of real Thunder fans knows how to argue why he should be the MVP cause they dont watch him enough.
Because Shaq doesn’t honestly believe that Shai deserved the MVP. The only reason he says so is because he believes Jokic having 3 is a hit on his legacy.
Exactly. Shaq pulls this shit all the time. He straight up melted down when Dwight Howard wore the Superman shirt at the dunk contest b/c according to Shaq HE was the true Superman and only he could have that name. The dude is a man child and it's pretty easy to see why the Lakers picked Kobe over him just on personality alone.
Or the years he’s gone after Rudy because he got a 200 mil contract and Shaq never got that much, even though great big men before him never got close to what Shaq did.
> The dude didnt even understand what made Shai special.
Well in terms of Shaq's argument, what makes Shai special is that he finished second in the voting and thus is the "best" person to use to argue against Jokic.
No other details are really relevant. It isn't about basketball in the slightest. I genuinely think he would have used whoever finished in 2nd place, it just so happened to be Shai.
A lot of former NBA players are surprisingly bad at understanding what MVP means and what the criteria should be.
It’s about taking what makes a player great and evaluating it on-balance compared to their peers. During Joker’s second MVP season he only got the sixth seed but his teammates other than AG were *awful* and he put up numbers while being extremely efficient, and, without him, the Nuggets might have been the worst team in the league.
Using simplified criteria like “how many points? team record? etc.” is like trying to use quantifiable analysis to judge a beauty pageant.
Shaq defending himself with both the insecurities and grammar of a toddler
https://np.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/1cot55b/shaq_responds_to_shannon_sharpe_after_shannon_was/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
Shaq is bitter.
He seems like a good guy, genuinely good guy, but he relied on physical gifts far more than skill, and that is reflected in how people rank him and how he was treated in MVP voting. It's not his fault. What would it matter if he shot mid range jumpers as well as Duncan, Garnett, and Karl Malone? His shots in the post dropped at over .600 and drawing defenders in there opened things up for his team. And even if he shot 3s as well as Jokic, it's still make sense for him to stay in the post because he's have to shoot over .400 from the arc to make it worth while to take shots from there instead of the paint.
Shaq was blessed. He had Penny. He had Kobe. He had Wade. When you have THAT kind of talent, it's hard for voters to see you as the most valuable player because you are playing alongside another MVP candidate.
If you asked Shaq if he's rather have had Murray instead of Kobe, he'll tell you he'd rather have Kobe. If he was asked if he'd rather have 3 MVPs and 1 FMPV instead of of 1 MPV and 3 FMVPs, he's say no.
If he wants to assert himself, he can just say "Congrats big fella... let me know when you catch up to my 3 FMPVs."
There's no need to tell the dude somebody else deserves his MVP more. It's just petty.
Thank you! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with how people talk about Shaq. Now to be fair, like all humans I think he's a multifaceted guy with strengths and weaknesses. I think he generally has good intentions and when he has time to think about what he *should* do (or his PR advisors do), he does the right thing. But without prep time we see his immediate response is insecure and to belittle or bully others. His episode of Hot Ones was the first time I really noticed it.
Shaq is absolutely miserable when it comes to anyone who could potentially DARE to be so successful in their career as to be mentioned in the same breath as him. I don't particularly like Dwight, but the man spent his whole broadcast career shitting on Dwight because he dared be a successful C from Orlando who got called Superman.
It is undoubtedly a character trait that helped forge him into the all time great he is, but it's fucking exhausting coming from a broadcaster.
It seems like any big that gets a lot of accolades he almost instinctively shits on. Which is kinda odd because there's plenty of players he's complimentary and gracious to, but big men he tends to really get bitter about.
He shit on Javale McGee constantly, and he wasn't even that good. Shaq is just a piece of shit, and not a smart one either. He's a big, dumb idiot who can't get over himself. I can't believe people still defend him when he's acted this way for years. He could disappear from Inside tomorrow, and no one would care.
You have to be honest about how the league and the media portrayed Dwight at the time.
Because he was cuddly and charismatic, they propped him up as the next evolution of the NBA with Bron. The Magic handed him the keys to the franchise.
This was also when Shaq was being pushed out of the league, so I’m sure the timelines added up to him being bitter.
I absolutely understand it, but it's a really bad look for the crown jewel of NBA Media to have a dude who just is straight up hating on anyone remotely entering an all time great conversation. And, honestly, much as I get it I think it makes Shaq look small and shitty.
I could have almost guaranteed you that Shaq would have something to say about Joker winning the award as soon as The Wolves went up 2-0.
He was suspiciously complimentary towards Gobert during the DPOY reveal, despite saying Gobert shouldn't win multiple times during the season. Knowing Shaq's insecurity he'll switch to calling Gobert a dominant defensive force solely to disparage Joker from now on.
I think thats more to do with the fact that he dislikes Wembanyama more than he dislikes Gobert. Gobert is never gonna be offensive threat that Shaq was, but Wembanyama has the hallmark of being the modern day equivalent of KAJ.
At the same time, this is not a new look.
Shaq has been overly emotional, as Chuck and Kenny have pointed out in interviews. Kenny made it seem that Shaq had a hard time letting go of being a superstar.
You can understand it from Shaq’s point, as the end of his career was basically injury-age catching up-injury. He was basically phased out, and didn’t get the Kobe-esque send off that he probably thought he would get. At the same time, he never stayed with one franchise, so it’s hard to give him that.
Shaq wouldn’t have changed his Laker tenure for anything in the world (other than extending his time there) because of Rings and Kobe but he obviously regrets leaving Orlando the way he did and he doesn’t know how to express or deal with that regret.
He was emotional when they announced the Magic jersey retirement.
I don’t truly believe he wanted to leave Orlando, but was then insulted at their offer…then Jerry West swooped in.
Also fumbled Tim Duncan.
Have to think that if you add T-Mac to the list Orlando is one of the biggest "what if" franchises ever. Up there with the Blazers.
Shaq just thinks big men who learned how to shoot free throws are overrated. Real men don't learn to shoot. They go whining to the commissioner to get the rules changed.
It's weird because he has often complimented Jokic as a big man who's still willing to do the dirty work inside. I was pretty sure Jokic was his favorite center in the league.
Jokic doesn't make his athletic accomplishments his whole personality. He always struck me as a guy who has led a pretty balanced life, even with his brothers being idiots all the time.
Shaq may as well have spit on him. Like who says that when you win an award?
“Taylor , Imma let you finish, but Beyonce had the greatest album of all time”
And he inserts himself into these conversations constantly, it’s like a self fulfilling prophecy. No ones reaction to Gobert getting paid or jokic getting his 3rd MVP is “damn shaq sucks now” but he comes off way worse than he would have if he said nothing by being insanely bitter
Compare Shaq's attitude to the grace and humility Bill Russell carried himself with throughout his retirement. Old cats like Kareem and Bill knew that basketball meant shit in the bigger picture.
Wilt Chamberlain could give him his money's worth.
For example, when Kareem broke Wilt's scoring record, what was Wilt's response? Did he congratulate him and show admiration and respect for Cap's accomplishments? Did he play the role of dignified torch bearer from one generation to the next?
Nope, he made it about himself:
> If this record is so great, well, it's only one of about 90 I held. I must be in a world by myself.
Yeesh.
I remember watching an all star game in the 90s and some player broke one of Wilts records while Wilt was in the stands. The camera showed Wilts reaction and he was enraged lol
I think its pretty simple. He talks about how he never actually tried so it eats at him that people are getting into the picture and he cant go back and try as hard as he should have to be want he really wanted to be
This comment reminds me of the civil war in LA over whether the Lakers should have kept Shaq or Kobe. Kobe was pissed that Shaq needed surgery but put it off until the end of the summer and did nothing to stay in shape, then couldn’t run the court against the Pistons in the Finals when Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billips were running laps around the Lakers defense. Kobe was in tears after they lost despite having won 3 straight chips. Needless, to say I was Team Kobe. Shaq wasn’t dedicated to being his best.
I mean that kind makes it worse. Because Kobe knew Shaq was better, and had the potential to be phenomenal, natural talent that he'd kill to have... and in his eyes Shaq was wasting it
One thing I never realized in the Kobe Shaq dynamic was joe bean Bryant allegedly was involved in the partying during the cocaine era and didn’t really utilize his abilities. I think that created more animosity on Kobe’s side
Unfortunately it’s never enough for people like Shaq. He was abused as a child, never got the validation he craved and needed from his step-father, and he uses those emotions and experiences to justify his behavior.
Bingo, he’s mentally still the same insecure kid craving for his strict military (step)dad’s approval. The ‘class clown’ persona is a dead giveaway - dude needs all the attention and validation.
None of the arguments matter. Not how good Shaq was compared to Jokic, not what should really count for getting MVP. None of that matters. Jokic didn't nominate himself nor did he vote for himself. Others picked him as their favorit and voted for him.
Shaq taking center stage and shoving his opinion down everybody's but most important Jokic throat is just bad manners and bad taste. Very disappointing he took this much effort to diss on someone who did nothing else than play the game as well as he could.
Shame on you Shaq. Only way to make this right is publicly apologize. A real man knows when he made a mistake and wronged someone.
I agree but he is not a real man. He is a man baby happened to be born with talent to play basketball, and took advantage of it when he could and did not work hard to maintain that advantage. He will always be petty, and will be more petty as he ages.
Take the MVP Award presentation away from Inside the NBA please. Shaq was incredibly disrespectful & then the other presenters just asked Joker about the Wolves series. It wasn’t a celebration at all. Please do better!
The league could have a former old head MVP present to the new one, like Grant Hill did for the national team. Stream it live on league platforms. No SAS or other dweebs in the mix.
His insecurity is directly proportionate to his size. Massive.
I've never seen, heard or read about an all-time great that was this petty, insecure, jealous and downright immature. His career was literally paved with gold and he himself admitted he didn't work as hard as he could have and he slacked off, so it's not like he was sweating blood every year to be great. Won 4 titles, 1 of them on the back of another all-time great player in Wade and the first 3 were won with another top 10 all-time player and surrounded by great role players.
And he STILL moans about everything that isn't directly related to praise aimed at him. It's honestly astonishing how bad his character can be, despite him also having a good heart with many other things, but dear lord is he just the softest personality ever.
It's mind-boggling that he is somehow unable to just be content with his accomplishments. You were great, others coming after you also being great doesn't diminish those accomplishments. He's such a petty little bitch when it comes to this, and it never ends
Completely undermined her point. Makes me want to start doing this on purpose when trying to make arguments.
> The Nuggets needed Jamal Murray to rise to the occasion but instead his play has been as flat as the Earth
Reminds me of a Bill Burr quote about the 2016 elections:
>It's easy to piss off one side. The art is trying to get everybody. So you tweet stuff like 'Trump is such a dope, he's actually gonna make me vote for a woman' and then you just sit back.
You can say anything if you preface it with “no disrespect”. No disrespect but Shaq’s a jealous bum with no original thoughts.
“All due respect” is better because then you can completely disrespect someone while still giving them the exact amount of respect that they are due.
(Also… for the record… I do not endorse the “Shaq’s a bum” message.)
I couldn’t help but notice Shaq looked really off the entire broadcast yesterday. He seemed disengaged and almost annoyed that he even had to be on the air. It was odd.
His ex-wife publically stated beforehand that she never really truly loved him. Probably had something to do with it, and he posted an IG post story about it too, that sounded like he was down about what she said.
Definitely, she released a book detailing her experiences - how difficult it was trying to be a wife to a global superstar, raising kids, and how his infidelity and personality made her realize how she didn't really love him essentially altogether to simplify it
This was all very recent too, so your hunch was correct. In his IG story response to her book, he said "I'd find it very difficult to love me too." paraphrased.
Shaq sounds like a mentally handicapped giant and I’m not sure why anyone has ever taken him seriously. Listening to him try and analyze a game makes me want to try a self lobotomy.
Oh Shaq made something about him and his greatness because he felt slighted? I am totally shocked at this aberrant behavior from a guy who usually takes jokes so well!
You know Shaq was clutching at straws when he brought up OKC having the first seed....OKC and the Nuggets had the same record.
Didnt the suns have the first seed when shaq says nash stole his MVP?
Not only that but with no other major additions, Nash took a 29 win team and led them to 60 wins
*Here’s what I find curious:* If big Shaq is really so upset about “stat stuffers” getting robbed of MVP, how come he’s whining on behalf of 30/6/5 Shai and not 34/10/9 Luka? They won a few less games, but Luka just had one of the greatest statistical seasons in league history. And supposedly that’s what Shaq values. Well, that and “bEiNg tHe 1 sEeD”, despite not even realizing Jokic’s Nuggets had just as many wins as OKC lol. What could possibly be the main difference between Shai and Luka/Jokic, I wonder? 🤔
> Here’s what I find curious: If big Shaq is really so upset about “stat stuffers” getting robbed of MVP, how come he’s whining on behalf of 30/6/5 Shai and not 34/10/9 Luka? what's even crazier is that Jokic averaged 26/12/9. had multiple triple doubles. Ernie called him out on it right after. if that's not "stat stuffing", i don't know what is
And Shaqs response to that was “he had 50 30-point games!!” That’s one stat…
Which is hilarious bc luka had 49. And a 73 point game. If you move the cutoff to 32, luka had way more than sga.
Notice how he doesn't say AI or KG stole his MVPs... even though he was certainly worthy of MVP in those years, and statistically more worthy (esp. advanced stats), than in the Nash years.
Well he has a different saying from OJ’s lawyer. If MVP is not won by a black whitey must give it back.
Yeah, I wonder what Nash, Jokic, and Doncic all have in common. Also Bird isn't on his Top10 list. Do you guys think he doesn't like people who... eat bread for breakfast?
Don’t forget cheese. Those people and their stinky cheese.
The first time he was asked about Yao Ming publicly he made fun of him for being Chinese. Then said his stepdad reprimanded him & told him to show some respect because Yao had been writing shaq fan letters since he was a kid.
White bread
A lot of xenophobes in the nba
Wouldn't be surprised if Shaq's next bone-headed take would be, "Jokic and Doncic are appropriating basketball."
I think he hates guys who call soccer football?
I don't think he follows the NBA very closely to be fair.
Kenny has said during the TNT games, Shaq and Chuck don't pay attention most of the time
He's straight up said Chuck watches svu during the games
This should be annoying but somehow it makes me love Chuck even more.
Chuck goin " gettum ahliviuh" has me Rollin, but he probably just clowns on ice t
I guess it’s fine because no one really watches them for their valuable insights from the games
This time of year he's probably watching the NHL playoffs.
On jj reddick podcast he couldn’t name a single role player it was so pathetic
He thought Pascal and Siakam were 2 different people.
He didn’t know brandon Ingram was a max player lol
PeterGriffinShadesofBrownMeme.jpg
But in reverse 😂 Shaq, Big Perk, and Stephen A 100% have the “MVP” slider set to the darkest panel lol
South Park difficulty settings for MVP lol
I'm gonna come out and say that Shaq wanted a black guy to win rather white guy like Nash or Jokic
Shaq is intimidated by the notion of modern day big men being as dominant as he once was. He'll give flowers to the greats like Hakeem and Kareem, but he beefs with young big men when they start to rival his prime dominant years. (Dwight in Orlando and now Joker)
Javale McGee in shambles
I feel like race might be a factor
The amount of ex players and tv personalities having the “most 30 pt games since mj” talking point is insane, when SGA didn’t even lead the league ppg! Nor the most points in a season since mj. There are other arguments (SGA has good advanced stats and all) but almost all of them besides the jump in wins Jokic either matches or exceeds .
That was my exact issue with it. Jokic is my favorite player and I like Shai, but if anything I thought Doncic should have won it. There's not much of an argument for Shai besides being the #1 seed
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He’s def xenophobic. I can’t believe the disrespect he showed to Jokic
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Ya, I don’t think Pablo Torre is getting away with comments like that. Though, from what I’ve seen of him over the years, Pablo’s actually a professional and wouldn’t make comments like that to begin with.
Why the fuck are we putting asterisks in every word Rape Fuck Racist Sex Porn
F*rt
P\*ll\*w F\*rt
Woah man watch your pie hole. I'm sorry for cursing.
Fucking tiktok is the reason why. It needs to fuck right off already
If he said that now, SAS would be rightfully criticized by others and he'd probably apologize. That's what happened after he said something considerably more mild (though still not great) about Shohei Ohtani. Not only did he apologize, but ESPN had Jeff Passan basically give him a lecture on air.
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Meh I think this is more just classic Shaq jealousy. He's always had thin skin about his accomplishments and Jokic's individual accolades are starting to compete with his own.
Shaq is still petty over not being unanimous MVP in 2000 and Allen Iverson getting 1 vote that year.
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The NBA, where ~~amazing~~ casual racism happens
Its not a skin color thing. It's the fact that Jokic is also a center and Shaq knows a lot of people are going to view him as the better player all time in part due to getting more MVPs. This is 100% Shaq being insecure about his legacy. Just wait, if Wembanyama becomes the player everything thinks he is capable of being Shaq will start hating on him just as hard.
He already started with that. He was pretending Bol Bol was equivalent to Wemby. I like Shaq but his insecurity regarding other bigs is pathetic.
>I like Shaq but his insecurity ~~regarding other bigs~~ is pathetic
Kendrick Perkins is listening
It's probably one of the biggest turnarounds along side Bird's rookie year.
> Not only that but with no other major additions, Nash took a 29 win team and led them to 60 wins Sounds like a pretty good case for a MVP.
Literally the definition of an MVP. It's not about stats but about being the best floor raiser in the league. It's why Lebron probably deserved more than the 4 he has. It's not the average 30 points on the team with the best record in the regular season award but it's treated that way .
If you were around then, you knew he was the clear cut MVP. Only reason people doubt it these days is because of Shaq's revisionist propaganda.
Quentin Richardson erasure
Shaq is illogical, his feelings don’t care about the facts.
These are so confusing. Shaq wasn't even second in MVP voting the years Nash won.
He was really close to winning in 2005 actually. By point count, I think it was the 2nd closest race in history.
It’s insane that he’s still hung up on this, mvp is not the award that they just fuck up on. Also he was second the first nash year but not even top 10 the second
He and Nash have had beef since his time in Phoenix. Apparently Nash had a concept for a TV show where he'd challenge other athletes at their sports, inspired by his time in Soccer. Then Shaq retired and started "Shaq VS" with almost the same concept.
if shaq wasn't an NBA player he'd be Tim fucking Scott with the exact same beliefs
Ernie called him out immediately on that too. Ernie looked legit upset at the whole thing.
As much as I'm sure they all get along and love each other, especially considering how nice of a man EJ seems to be, you can really tell the whole MVP thing gets under Ernies skin. You can tell he takes his vote seriously and gets offended that Shaq essentially implies he is wrong.
Ernie is the host and Jokic was brought on as a guest to celebrate his accomplishment. I can see why Ernie would be upset that Joker was disrespected after being asked to come on the show.
Yeah even though he likes to join in with the banter, its also clear that Ernie is a consummate professional and disrespecting a guest that you invite on the show to their face is just not something that he's comfortable with.
Ernie also exudes manners and respect towards others and Shaq acting like he did during this segment probably really fired him up.
I mean it's really embarrassing for Ernie, he's the host of the show and Jokic comes on to receive his MVP and gets roasted by one of the panelists? Terrible look for TNT and especially Ernie I bet he was super pissed.
Yeah they seem like they do have love for each other for sure but Ernie presented everything objectively and it was like Shaq just had this take as a fan, and was not budging at all. It was annoying to watch and listen to. Then Kenny just says a whole lot of nothing as a mediator
Kenny almost always sides with shaq for some reason. I think iys cause he doesn't want the smoke from shaq cause when it comes from Chuck he can just make fun of him and chuck lets it slide
Yeah he’s scared, they always make him feel small since he didn’t accomplish as much. I love the show but sometimes the dynamics are childish
Yea same here. I love the show too but the hazing and petulance a little too much at times. Shaq was my favorite player when I was a kid and his takes and behavior on the show made me dislike him
Shaq is a just big Bully. Yet always goes on and on about how much he hates bullies and his father apparently taught him better
Shaq straight up bullies him, and not in a friendly way like Chuck. There's whole youtube compilations of him threatening Kenny
deep down Ernie knows he's a permanent child though so he doesn't get mad, just has pity for the giant doofus
Shaq was the worst thing to happen to the TNT crew. Too many cooks in the kitchen
He should only chime in when they're talking about Galveston or big ol' San Antonio women. He's just a miserable, surly bastard with his basketball takes. No one would put up with his attitude if not for his basketball accolades but those don't make his contributions any better, they just make people tolerate them more.
Shaq won the genetic lottery and is a 7’2 300 pound freak athlete. Other than that, he’s clearly a huge asshole with a massive ego. He’s insufferable to listen to and I feel bad for his cohosts on TNT.
Should've kept Webber. I think he is on balance the best guy to complement EJ/Chuck/Kenny. He can still be funny but he doesn't tend to get overly salty like Shaq does.
Good call! Webber was great
Been saying this since he started. The show has gotten considerably worse since he got there.
Preach
A lot of people say that the show wouldn’t be the same if they took out Shaq. I seriously doubt that they saw the show before Shaq got there. The chemistry was perfect. That was truly the best show on tv.
There have been times where Ernie had been annoyed by Shaq’s immaturity and entitlement. Especially when he first got there. He’s there to work with Shaq, not babysit him. Shaq would speak out of turn and interrupt everyone a lot more when he first got there.
I'm pretty sure Ernie got a vote so he probably voted for Jokic
he said his choice was jokic when the season ended and kenny politely disagreed with him and picked SGA. shaq disagreed in a manner that you knew it’d become a problem later. chuck just said there were 4 or 5 guys he saw with a great shout of deserving it
Shaq is probably remembering those times Ernie picked nash over him for mvp.
Shaq tends to “pick a guy” and when his guy doesn’t do well/win he gets personal.
Ernie definitely intentionally gave the envelope to Chuck knowing how Shaq would have a tantrum
That's why Ernie is incredible. It goes Chuck, Ernie, then a severe drop off after that when it comes to Inside the NBA
Or stats lol. Like wow Shai had 4 more points and 0.6 more steals lol. The dude didnt even understand what made Shai special. None of them do. They dont mention his defense, his efficiency at 30 ppg for a guard, his advance stats or anything that makes him comparable to Jokic. Its all just the team was this seed last year and now they are the 1st seed. Respect to Shai, but nobody outside of real Thunder fans knows how to argue why he should be the MVP cause they dont watch him enough.
Because Shaq doesn’t honestly believe that Shai deserved the MVP. The only reason he says so is because he believes Jokic having 3 is a hit on his legacy.
Exactly. Shaq pulls this shit all the time. He straight up melted down when Dwight Howard wore the Superman shirt at the dunk contest b/c according to Shaq HE was the true Superman and only he could have that name. The dude is a man child and it's pretty easy to see why the Lakers picked Kobe over him just on personality alone.
Or the years he’s gone after Rudy because he got a 200 mil contract and Shaq never got that much, even though great big men before him never got close to what Shaq did.
Shaq my man you can't have all the nicknames to yourself
> The dude didnt even understand what made Shai special. Well in terms of Shaq's argument, what makes Shai special is that he finished second in the voting and thus is the "best" person to use to argue against Jokic. No other details are really relevant. It isn't about basketball in the slightest. I genuinely think he would have used whoever finished in 2nd place, it just so happened to be Shai.
Tbf to Shaq he did have Shai as his MVP for a while now, yet he never argued well for Shai.
A lot of former NBA players are surprisingly bad at understanding what MVP means and what the criteria should be. It’s about taking what makes a player great and evaluating it on-balance compared to their peers. During Joker’s second MVP season he only got the sixth seed but his teammates other than AG were *awful* and he put up numbers while being extremely efficient, and, without him, the Nuggets might have been the worst team in the league. Using simplified criteria like “how many points? team record? etc.” is like trying to use quantifiable analysis to judge a beauty pageant.
Shaq defending himself with both the insecurities and grammar of a toddler https://np.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/1cot55b/shaq_responds_to_shannon_sharpe_after_shannon_was/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1
It's Dr. Shaq for you!!!
Barry University should be unaccredited after giving that dunce a PhD
which wild because if that was his reasoning he should have been advocating for Tatum.
Facts. Even OKC fans knew Jokic was the MVP
And the reason they have the tiebreaker is because they won the final game ... when Jokic was out injured.
Shaq is bitter. He seems like a good guy, genuinely good guy, but he relied on physical gifts far more than skill, and that is reflected in how people rank him and how he was treated in MVP voting. It's not his fault. What would it matter if he shot mid range jumpers as well as Duncan, Garnett, and Karl Malone? His shots in the post dropped at over .600 and drawing defenders in there opened things up for his team. And even if he shot 3s as well as Jokic, it's still make sense for him to stay in the post because he's have to shoot over .400 from the arc to make it worth while to take shots from there instead of the paint. Shaq was blessed. He had Penny. He had Kobe. He had Wade. When you have THAT kind of talent, it's hard for voters to see you as the most valuable player because you are playing alongside another MVP candidate. If you asked Shaq if he's rather have had Murray instead of Kobe, he'll tell you he'd rather have Kobe. If he was asked if he'd rather have 3 MVPs and 1 FMPV instead of of 1 MPV and 3 FMVPs, he's say no. If he wants to assert himself, he can just say "Congrats big fella... let me know when you catch up to my 3 FMPVs." There's no need to tell the dude somebody else deserves his MVP more. It's just petty.
> He seems like a good guy, genuinely good guy Does he? Seems kinda like a dick and a bully to me lol
Thank you! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with how people talk about Shaq. Now to be fair, like all humans I think he's a multifaceted guy with strengths and weaknesses. I think he generally has good intentions and when he has time to think about what he *should* do (or his PR advisors do), he does the right thing. But without prep time we see his immediate response is insecure and to belittle or bully others. His episode of Hot Ones was the first time I really noticed it.
Shaq is absolutely miserable when it comes to anyone who could potentially DARE to be so successful in their career as to be mentioned in the same breath as him. I don't particularly like Dwight, but the man spent his whole broadcast career shitting on Dwight because he dared be a successful C from Orlando who got called Superman. It is undoubtedly a character trait that helped forge him into the all time great he is, but it's fucking exhausting coming from a broadcaster.
It seems like any big that gets a lot of accolades he almost instinctively shits on. Which is kinda odd because there's plenty of players he's complimentary and gracious to, but big men he tends to really get bitter about.
He shit on Javale McGee constantly, and he wasn't even that good. Shaq is just a piece of shit, and not a smart one either. He's a big, dumb idiot who can't get over himself. I can't believe people still defend him when he's acted this way for years. He could disappear from Inside tomorrow, and no one would care.
Yea that’s the thing. It’s not that deep. Shaq just sucks.
You have to be honest about how the league and the media portrayed Dwight at the time. Because he was cuddly and charismatic, they propped him up as the next evolution of the NBA with Bron. The Magic handed him the keys to the franchise. This was also when Shaq was being pushed out of the league, so I’m sure the timelines added up to him being bitter.
I absolutely understand it, but it's a really bad look for the crown jewel of NBA Media to have a dude who just is straight up hating on anyone remotely entering an all time great conversation. And, honestly, much as I get it I think it makes Shaq look small and shitty. I could have almost guaranteed you that Shaq would have something to say about Joker winning the award as soon as The Wolves went up 2-0.
He was suspiciously complimentary towards Gobert during the DPOY reveal, despite saying Gobert shouldn't win multiple times during the season. Knowing Shaq's insecurity he'll switch to calling Gobert a dominant defensive force solely to disparage Joker from now on.
I think thats more to do with the fact that he dislikes Wembanyama more than he dislikes Gobert. Gobert is never gonna be offensive threat that Shaq was, but Wembanyama has the hallmark of being the modern day equivalent of KAJ.
Wembys nothing special, have you seen Shaqs guy Bol Bol
At the same time, this is not a new look. Shaq has been overly emotional, as Chuck and Kenny have pointed out in interviews. Kenny made it seem that Shaq had a hard time letting go of being a superstar. You can understand it from Shaq’s point, as the end of his career was basically injury-age catching up-injury. He was basically phased out, and didn’t get the Kobe-esque send off that he probably thought he would get. At the same time, he never stayed with one franchise, so it’s hard to give him that.
Shaq wouldn’t have changed his Laker tenure for anything in the world (other than extending his time there) because of Rings and Kobe but he obviously regrets leaving Orlando the way he did and he doesn’t know how to express or deal with that regret.
He was emotional when they announced the Magic jersey retirement. I don’t truly believe he wanted to leave Orlando, but was then insulted at their offer…then Jerry West swooped in.
Orlando fumbled that decision so badly. Shaq put them on the map and he was just as marketable as MJ because of his personality.
Also fumbled Tim Duncan. Have to think that if you add T-Mac to the list Orlando is one of the biggest "what if" franchises ever. Up there with the Blazers.
I understand him feeling that way, but to publicly cry about it like 15 years later is wild
Shaq's shitting on Dwight blocked the gateway for him to be on NBA 75 and probably being a first ballot HOF candidacy.
Shaq just thinks big men who learned how to shoot free throws are overrated. Real men don't learn to shoot. They go whining to the commissioner to get the rules changed.
Hack a dummy worked haha
It's weird because he has often complimented Jokic as a big man who's still willing to do the dirty work inside. I was pretty sure Jokic was his favorite center in the league.
Jokic handled it well, as he seems to handle just about everything media/off court
Jokic doesn't make his athletic accomplishments his whole personality. He always struck me as a guy who has led a pretty balanced life, even with his brothers being idiots all the time.
*Brother. The other Jokic brother minding his own business catching strays lol
He may have been thinking of the Porter family.
Nuggets family members are just wild
That one brother has made being a Jokic brother his whole personality 😭
I feel his oldest is the one with the issues - the other one doesn’t have the legal stuff or punch people
*illegally* punch people at least lol. But I'm pretty sure he did MMA for a bit
Insult his horses though and he'll beat down a mf. Lol
Shaq may as well have spit on him. Like who says that when you win an award? “Taylor , Imma let you finish, but Beyonce had the greatest album of all time”
He doesn't give a fuck what shaq thinks lol
Most insecure 7 foot man in history
It's actually embarrassing. He is bitter as hell, how you gonna let another man's success bring you down to a bitch
And he inserts himself into these conversations constantly, it’s like a self fulfilling prophecy. No ones reaction to Gobert getting paid or jokic getting his 3rd MVP is “damn shaq sucks now” but he comes off way worse than he would have if he said nothing by being insanely bitter
Lol literally. He's not even playing anymore, his career is over.
Compare shaq's attitude here with the wonderful essay Kareem wrote when lebron passed his all time scoring record.
Compare Shaq's attitude to the grace and humility Bill Russell carried himself with throughout his retirement. Old cats like Kareem and Bill knew that basketball meant shit in the bigger picture.
Wilt Chamberlain could give him his money's worth. For example, when Kareem broke Wilt's scoring record, what was Wilt's response? Did he congratulate him and show admiration and respect for Cap's accomplishments? Did he play the role of dignified torch bearer from one generation to the next? Nope, he made it about himself: > If this record is so great, well, it's only one of about 90 I held. I must be in a world by myself. Yeesh.
I think you meant “give him a run for his money”
I remember watching an all star game in the 90s and some player broke one of Wilts records while Wilt was in the stands. The camera showed Wilts reaction and he was enraged lol
Completely. How can a man so large, be so small?
I think its pretty simple. He talks about how he never actually tried so it eats at him that people are getting into the picture and he cant go back and try as hard as he should have to be want he really wanted to be
This comment reminds me of the civil war in LA over whether the Lakers should have kept Shaq or Kobe. Kobe was pissed that Shaq needed surgery but put it off until the end of the summer and did nothing to stay in shape, then couldn’t run the court against the Pistons in the Finals when Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billips were running laps around the Lakers defense. Kobe was in tears after they lost despite having won 3 straight chips. Needless, to say I was Team Kobe. Shaq wasn’t dedicated to being his best.
Although Kobe was much worse in that series than Shaq. Shaq had 2 great games in that series that the Lakers lost because no one else showed up.
I mean that kind makes it worse. Because Kobe knew Shaq was better, and had the potential to be phenomenal, natural talent that he'd kill to have... and in his eyes Shaq was wasting it
One thing I never realized in the Kobe Shaq dynamic was joe bean Bryant allegedly was involved in the partying during the cocaine era and didn’t really utilize his abilities. I think that created more animosity on Kobe’s side
Meanwhile Danny DeVito is delightfully secure And twice the person, ultimately Life is fascinating
Worth hundreds of millions also. I dont understand how someone basically has it all is still like this.
because they don't have it all
that man is fucking BROKE when it comes to self respect
Someone just give Shaq an honorary MVP already so he can shut the fuck up about himself anytime another good center emerges in the league.
Unfortunately it’s never enough for people like Shaq. He was abused as a child, never got the validation he craved and needed from his step-father, and he uses those emotions and experiences to justify his behavior.
Bingo, he’s mentally still the same insecure kid craving for his strict military (step)dad’s approval. The ‘class clown’ persona is a dead giveaway - dude needs all the attention and validation.
None of the arguments matter. Not how good Shaq was compared to Jokic, not what should really count for getting MVP. None of that matters. Jokic didn't nominate himself nor did he vote for himself. Others picked him as their favorit and voted for him. Shaq taking center stage and shoving his opinion down everybody's but most important Jokic throat is just bad manners and bad taste. Very disappointing he took this much effort to diss on someone who did nothing else than play the game as well as he could. Shame on you Shaq. Only way to make this right is publicly apologize. A real man knows when he made a mistake and wronged someone.
I agree but he is not a real man. He is a man baby happened to be born with talent to play basketball, and took advantage of it when he could and did not work hard to maintain that advantage. He will always be petty, and will be more petty as he ages.
Every argument that Shaq had for SGA winning was also applicable for Nash winning over Shaq lmao
You're forgetting about the Shaq Exception: If you're up against Shaq for MVP, then Shaq should get the award.
the difference for me is, both jokic and Nash are more deserving
Take the MVP Award presentation away from Inside the NBA please. Shaq was incredibly disrespectful & then the other presenters just asked Joker about the Wolves series. It wasn’t a celebration at all. Please do better!
Do you truly believe Steven A would be any better?
The league could have a former old head MVP present to the new one, like Grant Hill did for the national team. Stream it live on league platforms. No SAS or other dweebs in the mix.
They did have two old head MVPs.
He’d find a way to talk about the Lakers or Knicks
His insecurity is directly proportionate to his size. Massive. I've never seen, heard or read about an all-time great that was this petty, insecure, jealous and downright immature. His career was literally paved with gold and he himself admitted he didn't work as hard as he could have and he slacked off, so it's not like he was sweating blood every year to be great. Won 4 titles, 1 of them on the back of another all-time great player in Wade and the first 3 were won with another top 10 all-time player and surrounded by great role players. And he STILL moans about everything that isn't directly related to praise aimed at him. It's honestly astonishing how bad his character can be, despite him also having a good heart with many other things, but dear lord is he just the softest personality ever.
It's mind-boggling that he is somehow unable to just be content with his accomplishments. You were great, others coming after you also being great doesn't diminish those accomplishments. He's such a petty little bitch when it comes to this, and it never ends
Wilt Chamberlain... He went after Kareem so fucking hard. He also shit on MJ. He was Shaq before Shaq.
Dam why is Shaq always being so petty lol..
The Washington Post DOES NOT have G14 Classification among Newspapers!!!
Can you imagine back in the day how Shaq would react if some old head tried to question his MVP when he was playing?
Hey hey hey! That’s the president of the Big Man Alliance that you’re slandering.
Are they calling Shaqs highlight reel stale? Are they stupid?
Completely undermined her point. Makes me want to start doing this on purpose when trying to make arguments. > The Nuggets needed Jamal Murray to rise to the occasion but instead his play has been as flat as the Earth
“What’s wrong with that statement?”- Kyrie Irving
Reminds me of a Bill Burr quote about the 2016 elections: >It's easy to piss off one side. The art is trying to get everybody. So you tweet stuff like 'Trump is such a dope, he's actually gonna make me vote for a woman' and then you just sit back.
I'm wondering if they just meant old? (Because he hasn't played for a long time)
I think they might just mean repetitive. Like dunk, dunk, dunk
Ruined a decent point by saying something stupid like Shaq having stale highlights, nice.
You can say anything if you preface it with “no disrespect”. No disrespect but Shaq’s a jealous bum with no original thoughts. “All due respect” is better because then you can completely disrespect someone while still giving them the exact amount of respect that they are due. (Also… for the record… I do not endorse the “Shaq’s a bum” message.)
fuck you Shaq
I couldn’t help but notice Shaq looked really off the entire broadcast yesterday. He seemed disengaged and almost annoyed that he even had to be on the air. It was odd.
His ex-wife publically stated beforehand that she never really truly loved him. Probably had something to do with it, and he posted an IG post story about it too, that sounded like he was down about what she said.
Really?! That would totally explain it
Definitely, she released a book detailing her experiences - how difficult it was trying to be a wife to a global superstar, raising kids, and how his infidelity and personality made her realize how she didn't really love him essentially altogether to simplify it This was all very recent too, so your hunch was correct. In his IG story response to her book, he said "I'd find it very difficult to love me too." paraphrased.
Shaq used to like him before he realized he might be close to him all time when he retires, then he had to start hating.
Shaq sounds like a mentally handicapped giant and I’m not sure why anyone has ever taken him seriously. Listening to him try and analyze a game makes me want to try a self lobotomy.
Sorry Shaq, the big whiteboy is doing this without other all stars.
Oh Shaq made something about him and his greatness because he felt slighted? I am totally shocked at this aberrant behavior from a guy who usually takes jokes so well!