Shaquille O'Neal admitted that he 'hated' an NBA opponent who denied him history with an unforgettable vote.
The WNBA recently announced their Rookie of the Year award, with Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers dominating the vote. The Dutch star, who was the first overall pick in this year's draft, could not lift the Wings, who finished the season 10-34.
Despite the team's struggles, Bueckers impressed, recording 692 points and 194 assists, which is the third-most by an WNBA rookie. She even scored the league's highest points total in a game this year, netting 44 against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Her impressive debut season earned her 70 of the 72 votes from sportswriters and broadcasters. Although Bueckers' win was comprehensive, it did not match O'Neal's dominance in the MVP vote back in 2000.
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The NBA legend won 120 of 121 votes, with Fred Hickman the only voter to go against the LA Lakers star. Back in 2019, O'Neal spoke to Kristine Leahy about the near-unanimous MVP award he received.
He said: “Fred Idiot Hickman. I hate him...Because he destroyed history being a b****.”
Leah asked if Hickman knew he should have voted for O'Neal.
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"Exactly, come on now," he replied.
"There wasn't anybody doing close to what I was doing and I told the world I was going to do that. And they saw it in my eyes, they saw it in my face, they saw it every time I played.
"He messed up history, and then a couple of years later you give Steph Curry unanimous. I love Steph, he's my favourite guy, he knows that but come on."
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In the 2015-2016 season, Golden State Warriors star Curry became the first and only player in NBA history to unanimously win the MVP award.
The Warriors finished the regular season 73-9, while Curry set an NBA record by making 402 three-pointers. Despite the impressive regular season, they fell short in the NBA Finals, surrendering a 3-1 series lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Curry's unanimous MVP award remains an astonishing achievement, with other legends falling just short.
In 2012-13, LeBron James won 120 of 121 votes, with the lone dissenting vote going to Carmelo Anthony. The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn explained his decision by noting Anthony's importance to the New York Knicks.
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Although Bueckers came close to joining Curry in the history books, she will instead join Shaq and James as players who were nearly unanimous award winners.
Topics: Shaquille ONeal, NBA, Steph Curry , Lebron James
James Taylor