At a time in which the rap beef between hip-hop stars Kendrick Lamar and Drake is dominating the headlines, there has been a bit of beef brewing within the sports media world as well. Los Angeles Lakers legend and Turner Sports analyst Shaquille O’Neal has gone back and forth on social media with NFL Hall of Famer and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe this week.
Things began after Shaq was critical of Nikola Jokic winning his third MVP in four seasons as he believed the award should’ve went to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgious-Alexander, who finished second. While discussing this on his Nightcap podcast, Sharpe spoke on his belief that the Lakers legend might be a little jealous of Jokic and the individual accolades he has gotten so far:
if Shaq woulda had Unc's worth ethic ?@ShannonSharpe @ochocinco @GilsArenaShow @ShayShayMedia_ pic.twitter.com/1PeqWlKnCD
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) May 9, 2024
This obviously did not sit well with Shaq, who responded with a Kendrick-like barrage of posts on Instagram. First the Lakers legend called out Sharpe as being beneath him and not qualified to discuss his accolades, before adding a post in which he praised Jokic on TNT following him being named MVP, and finally ended with a quick diss track aimed at Sharpe:
Following everything Shaq had to say, Sharpe would respond once more on Nightcap, noting that he has never said he was O’Neal’s equivalent in terms of what they accomplished in their respective sports, but adding that he got everything he could out of himself while Shaq self-admittedly didn’t take everything as serious as he should have:
Unc responds to @SHAQ @ShannonSharpe @ochocinco pic.twitter.com/UQ2lJDLAxz
— Nightcap (@NightcapShow_) May 10, 2024
Ideally, this would be the end of the back-and-forth between the two as both O’Neal and Sharpe are excellent and extremely entertaining at what they do. They are both Hall of Famers and represent themselves very well.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions on things at the end of the day and they aren’t always going to agree, but Shaq and Sharpe should now be able to move and continue their outstanding media careers with no issues.
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell hoping to take advantage of leverage this summer
One thing both Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe have in common is that they openly root for the current Lakers to win more championships. With this season now over, the attention moves toward next year and what possible changes could be made.
One big question is whether D’Angelo Russell will return as he has a player option for next season. The latest rumor is that the Lakers point guard is expected to decline that option and become an unrestricted free agent this summer with hopes of securing a long-term deal, which falls in line with him saying he plans to use his leverage.
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