Shaquille O’Neal still thinks about the two MVP awards Steve Nash won in 2005 and 2006, and it drives him crazy.
The Hall of Fame center says he should “easily” have three Maurice Podoloff trophies, instead of the mere one.
Column: Shaquille O’Neal, immortalized with Staples Center statue, still ‘bothered’ by MVP snubs, what-ifs https://t.co/N3HduSfHuV pic.twitter.com/tlYbgRDxqx
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) March 25, 2017
O’Neal argues that him and LeBron James could win the award every single year they played in.
Per SI:
“LeBron [James] and myself are similar,” O’Neal said earlier this month in Atlanta. “We could be MVP every year. But [the voters] don’t give it every year and he’s already got four. [I should have won] three, easily. Kobe [Bryant] should have won three, too. [I should have won] the two that Steve Nash got over me. It pisses me off. [Nash] knows.”
For the record, O’Neal retired in 2011 with five top-three MVP finishes, eight top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes. He was runner-up to Robinson in 1995, runner-up to Nash in 2005, and injured for a good chunk of the 2006 season when Nash won his second MVP. Even O’Neal’s sole MVP win remains a sore spot, though, as he was one vote shy of becoming the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Warriors guard Stephen Curry claimed that honor last year.
“The one where that crazy dummy Fred Hickman f—ed up my historical [unanimous MVP] so now Curry gets the first unanimous,” O’Neal said. “That bothers me a lot.”
