Shaquille O’Neal is still bitter he only won one MVP award during his memorable career.
O’Neal strongly disagreed with the notion that some sportswriters believe he underachieved during his 19-year run in the NBA.
The future Hall of Fame centre told the magazine Vibe in a recent interview that he didn’t think former Phoenix Suns teammate Steve Nash deserved to win the MVP award twice.
“(Steve) Nash is my boy, but I don’t see how [expletive] he got it twice,” O’Neal told Vibe. “I was taught never to complain because you can’t beat the system. People know who the real dominant guy was. But Steve Nash, I don’t want to say it.”
O’Neal is considered to be one of the most dominant centres in the history of the league. He was a two-time scoring champion, a 15-time all-star and has three separate NBA Finals MVP awards.
His only MVP award came during the 1999-2000 when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers where the LSU product averaged 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
O’Neal spent time with the Orlando Magic, Lakers, Miami Heat, Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics during his 19 seasons.
Nash, who was a teammate of O’Neal’s in Phoenix from 2008-09, won the MVP award in back-to-back seasons in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
