Some rivalries never die down. Yesterday, Steve Nash made an appearance on NBA on TNT, and his rivalry with Shaquille O’Neal was revived. At the end of the segment, Shaq threw in a minor jab.

He said, “If you’re at your house can you show me one of the MVP trophies you stole from me.” Nash wasn’t going to leave without a comeback so he fired back saying, “It’s hard to give you an MVP since you couldn’t make a free throw down the stretch.”

Origin of the rivalry with Shaq

Shaq has been upset for years about Nash’s back to back MVPs in 2005 and 2006 and believes he deserved it.

During the 2004-05 season, Nash averaged 15.5 points and a league-high 11.5 assists per game. To cap it off, he had shooting splits of 50/40/90. Finally, he led the Suns to the best record in the league, and he then edged out Shaq to win his first-ever MVP.

The next season, he followed it up with another impressive season. Averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 assists per game while repeating his 50/40/90 shooting splits, Nash was able to retain his MVP trophy.

Throughout the years, Shaq has brought this up multiple times. It was more serious earlier but at least now he could laugh it off.

Will Steve Nash be able to succeed at the Nets?

The newly appointed Brooklyn Nets coach Nash has a huge task on his hand. His team is already blessed with two superstars and an exciting core. So they will be expected to be contenders.

Despite him not having any coaching experience, he has 18 years of playing experience in the league. He has also worked as a player development consultant with the Warriors, where he worked with his star player Kevin Durant. Nash is one of the best point guards the league has ever seen and Kyrie Irving will be eager to learn from him.

In the upcoming season, they will certainly be one of the most exciting teams. Fans around the league will be rooting for Nash to succeed.