Shaquille O’Neal told Nikola Jokic to his face that he felt Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserved the MVP more. This take from Shaq on Inside the NBA was not entertained and over the last few days, the internet has been calling out the Los Angeles Lakers legend for doing so. Finally, Big Diesel has opened up about it. However, it was through a reply to a fan who commented on his latest Instagram reel. 

Shaq shared a post where an influencer was comparing Nikola Jokic and the Lakers legend. An Instagram user commented under the post, “Why disrespect Joker on his MVP?“, highlighting the incident from TNT. It looks like Shaq was fed up with all the criticism. He decided to put an end to it with a mean reply to the fan.

The 4x NBA champion replied, “Told him to his face so dummies like u won’t twist my words…I’m a always stand on what i say i and said i thought SGA was the MVP and i dint give a f*** who like it…If u watch what i said i said he is still the best big man, how is that disrespect dummy. Again i stand on what i say…How about i don’t give AF. any more questions.” That’s a way to end a controversy!

Along with the above reply, Shaq also gave Nikola Jokic a huge compliment by adding him to a notable list of his. 

Nikola Jokic is not Shaquille O’Neal’s MVP, but is definitely his favorite

3x Super Bowl champion Shannon Sharpe accused Shaq of being “envious” of Nikola Jokic’s dominance in the NBA. Shaq has already replied to it with a diss track and a separate Instagram post for the NFL legend. However, by adding the Joker to his list of favorite players, the Big Diesel has proved that he is not jealous of him. 

In the captions of the above post, Shaq announced his four favorite players, who are, Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic. However, what’s surprising is that this list does not include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s name. Was he not Shaq’s pick for the MVP? The 4x champion endorsed the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard all season.

Anyhow, it looks like he couldn’t make it to Shaq’s list of favorites. Coming back to the main story, Shaq’s point is clear. His motive was not to disrespect Jokic. The Serbian sensation is his favorite player at the moment.