"I made him who he is"- Shaquille O'Neal takes credit for Stephen A. Smith coveting contract 3x more than JJ Redick's Lakers' paycheck

Former LA Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal took credit from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith for having a massing payday. The broadcast company reportedly offered a five-year, $18 million per year contract to the television personality. However, Smith wasn't satisfied with the offer and demanded that he be paid at least $25 million annually.

This drew the attention of TNT's Adam Lefkoe, who brought it up to O'Neal in the recent episode of "The Big Pod with Shaq." According to Lefkoe, he found it interesting that a television analyst can demand to make more money than the head coach of the Lakers.

JJ Redick, the recently hired head coach of the Lakers signed a four-year, $8 million per year contract, according to Shams Charania. After Lefkoe expressed his thoughts on Smith's demands for higher pay, O'Neal addressed it by taking credit.

"I remember when he signed for $10 million and he's doing a great job and I wish him well and I hope he can make all the money he can make," O'Neal said. "But he needs to thank me. I made him who he is.

"When he first came on. He wasn't making no money talking about the Sixers. Once you start talking crazy about me, and me and young would go back and forth and you got hot. So, you're welcome, Stephen A."

Smith has been in the television industry since the early 2000s and has shared his controversial takes with the masses. He's also had the chance to criticize stars, including Shaq.

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Shaquille O'Neal takes a shot at Ben Simmons for rumored NBA 2K rating

There have been rumors that Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons had dropped his rating to 66 overall in the video game NBA 2K series. In the 2019-21 season, Simmons was considered a star in real life and the video game. He was consistently given an 87 overall rating.

However, because he's declined in production due to injuries, his rating has gone lower. A post on Instagram has caught the attention of the fans for how low Simmons has been rated by the game. Luckily for him, it hasn't been confirmed by the developers yet.

Interestingly, Shaquille O'Neal caught the attention of the post and made time to leave a comment. For the former All-Star, he thinks Simmons' rating should be even lower than 66.

Shaq comments on Simmons' NBA 2K rating (Instagram/@shaq)

O'Neal has always been critical of Simmons and seeing him comment about his video game rating isn't strange.