The former NFL player said Shaq is jealous of the accolades the ‘Joker’ has earned as NBA MVP

Shaquille O’Neal and Shannon Sharpe started a war of wordsLAPRESSE

Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal kicked off an interesting war of words with Shannon Sharpe, releasing a diss track for the former NFL star.

O’Neal, 52, couldn’t stand the criticism of Sharpe, 55, after the NBA named its MVP for the 2024 season, giving the award to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

Sharpe claimed that O’Neal is jealous because Jokic won his third NBA MVP title in four years. In fact, Shaq himself interviewed the ‘Joker’ after he won the award and told him that he would have given the award to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, leader of the surprising Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sharpe called the comment in poor taste and said on his podcast The Nightcap that Shaq was envious because he was only able to win the award once during his career.

Then the war between thee sports figures began when O’Neal responded by saying Sharpe wasn’t even “ranked in the top 10” of his own “profession”. He even composed a few rhymes to state his case, releasing the track his Instagram account and his The Big Podcast.

Sharpe also accused Shaq of being out of the conversation as the NBA’s GOAT and the former Lakers and Heat star shared a screenshot of an article that ranked Sharpe 51st on a list of all-time great tight ends.

“I kno you tryna stay relevant by gossiping on your podcast. we don’t believe you. you need more people and in case you forgot. 4 rings three finals Mvp top 50 and top 75. google me,” O’Neal wrote in one of his Instagram posts.

O’Neal takes aim at Sharpe

In the song, a remix of sorts of Ryan Garcia’s ‘Number One,‘ O’Neal directly addresses Sharpe and tells Sharpe he is “way beneath me.”

“Your whole demeanor is faker than new rapper beefy/ You’re soft before you get fly, you’d rather tweet me/ I was in three different cars when you was in three feet/ All I see is dollar signs, they coming in 3-D,” O’Neal raps.

“Make it hot, ain’t no way around my degrees/ You are not in my spot, you are like a peewee.”

“I’ve got him calling me Rocky the way I RiRi. I get to the green bag, I don’t mean a lawnmower/ Jet flying, foreign driving, best buying, downpour,” he continues.

O’Neal also says he’s “proved” he is “the best” while calling Sharpe’s podcast a “bulls**t podcast.”

He also tagged artists like 50 Cent and Rick Ross : “You can never break the UNBreakable. and to all the people that kno both of us don’t call me, it will never [be] a sit down.”

O’Neal is no stranger to the music scene, releasing his debut platinum album ‘Shaq Diesel’ back in 1993. He’s also worked with other big names in the music scene like Phife Dawg and The Notorious B.I.G.