Shaquille O’Neal has disputed Damian Lillard’s claim for the throne when it comes to the best rapper-athlete.
Shaq Diesel joined TMZ Sports earlier this week where he pushed back against Dame’s claims as the best athlete in Hip Hop and the Laker legend is always up for competition, although he respects Lillard’s ability behind the mic.
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“It’s all competition for me. So when I hear other people that say, ‘Oh, I’m a better athlete-rapper than Shaq,’ I gotta step up,” he said. “Nothing personal. I just gotta let these people know who paved the way.”
O’Neal admitted he stepped away from rapping in the ’90s following a successful stint because the checks weren’t big enough to keep up with his lavish NBA lifestyle.
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“I put stuff out, they put stuff out. And we’ll let the people decide who the number one is. I know who the number one is,” Shaq added.
“I’m gonna always say myself is number one, but they got a lot of guys out there that are coming. Dame Lillard’s really nice, Iman Shumpert can go, Antonio Brown can go. It’s all about competition. I like being in competition.”
Watch the clip below.
Lillard and Shaquille O’Neal actually engaged in a back-and-forth that saw them exchange multiple diss tracks in October 2019.
Shaq’s rapping career saw him pick up a few accolades as he broke through commercially with 1993’s Shaq Diesel going platinum and 1994’s Shaq Fu: Da Return reaching gold status.
On the hoops side, Damian Lillard will look to match the gold standard of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant when it comes to dynamic duos as Dame was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks which will see him join forces with Giannis Antetokounmpo in pursuit of his first championship.
Lillard requested a trade out of Portland earlier in the summer, and while many thought his preferred destination was the Miami Heat, Dame Time took his talents to the Midwest.
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Snoop Dogg was one of the millions to react to the shocking trade news last week and Snoop saluted the move to the Eastern Conference for Dame.
“Dame Lillard to the Bucks? That’s good,” he said. “Going to the East, nephew. Ball out. You got Giannis on your squad now. Ugh! The East just got nasty. Lakers, we know what we gon’ do. But congrats to my nephew, Dame Lillard. Dame Time. Go get yours, nephew.”
He added: “I love it when a baller get his money. Go get to where he tryna get to. Good looking out, NBA. Bucks. I like bucks. Big bucks. No whammies.”
