NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal has been pleading with the league to give the MVP award as a “farewell gift” to LeBron James. Co-host Adem Lefkoe mentioned on the latest episode of The Shaq Podcast that the cast of Netflix’s Starting 5 was one of his choices for the award. O’Neal picked Jayson Tatum as his personal MVP candidate and then surprised himself with an interesting reason why he picked the Los Angeles Lakers star. The discussion about the award was part of an episode of O’Neal’s “Shaq Big Podcast.”
Shaquille O’Neal speculates LeBron James will win MVP
Lakers superstar LeBron James has performed well this season, leading the team to consecutive defeats against the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors. The Lakers lead 6-4 and will face the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow. Former MVP James hasn’t won an MVP since 2013, but he always makes strides forward.
Co-host Adam Lefkoe said on “The Big Podcast with Shaq” with Shaquille O’Neal that the draft king accepted an interview with the Netflix documentary series “Starting Five.” The bets are on who will be the MVP among the five star players in the group, including James, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Jimmy Butler and Domantas Sabonis.
Lefko chose Tatum because the Celtics had a strong start and Tatum averaged 30 points per game. O’Neal agreed, but also hinted at a potential connection between the NBA and James. “I would say Tatum, or if the Lakers do well and finish No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 in the Western Conference, they might try to give it to LeBron for his farewell tour,” said the Hall of Fame center.
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James averaged 23.2 points, 44.4% three-point shooting, 7.7 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game. Davis’ running mate put up MVP-like numbers for the Lakers, averaging 31.2 points, 57.7% shooting, 10.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, which is close to career highs. This season will be the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Lakers have fallen out of the top four in the Western Conference.
