In a recent appearance in Stephen A’s world, Shaquille O’Neal watched the game highlights between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks with Stephen A. Smith and Chris Redd. During this session, the trio discussed the league and the players who are performing well right now. Meanwhile, Shaq had an optimistic message for the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA legend also voiced his stern opinion about the vetting process for the NBA Most Valuable Player award.
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While watching the game reels, Stephen A asked Shaq if he thought that the Lakers would be relevant this season. Shaq stated that his ex-team has all the chances to be relevant this season. He pointed out that the team is one game away from being placed 8th on the Western Conference table.
In addition, the Big Aristotle claimed that if Anthony Davis and LeBron James show consistency with Russell Westbrook chiming in occasionally, then no one should rule the Lakers out of playoff contention. Alongside this optimism, the 15-time NBA All-Star also had a stern message regarding the NBA MVP award.
Shaquille O’Neal calls out Steve Nash while talking about the NBA MVP award
During the show, Shaquille O’Neal listed out a few players that he believed were MVP candidates. Shaq’s list included Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum. While addressing the subject, the four-time Champion stated that he never understood the criteria behind selecting the regular season MVP.
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He strongly believed that there was something wrong with the criteria of the selection process. Shaq said, “How come they[some players] have three or four [MVP awards] and Kobe only got one and I only got one. There’s something wrong with it.”
Subsequently, the four-time NBA champ questioned the reasoning behind the MVP voting, Shaq demanded for a clear demarcation of the criteria for selecting the league MVP award for the public.
He further called out the tendency to choose MVPs based on the team’s success, instead of the player’s performance that season. During his rant, he also called out two-time MVP Steve Nash, “Ain’t no way Steve Nash outplayed me in those two years he won MVP.”?
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Hall of Famer Steve Nash bagged the MVP trophy in 2005 and 2006. During these seasons, he donned the Phoenix Suns jersey while averaging 15.5 points, 10.5 assists and 18.8 points, 11.5 assists respectively. The Phoenix Suns reached the NBA Western Conference Finals in both the seasons but ended up losing in the end.
During those two seasons, the Big Aristotle played for the Miami Heat. He averaged between 22.9 and 20 points respectively in the two seasons. In 2004-05, the Miami Heat reached the Eastern Conference Finals and lost to the Detroit Pistons. However, in the season after that, the Heat won the NBA championship.
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What do you think about Shaq’s point of view? Let us know in the comments below.