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Huh? Shaq says Wolves aren't good enough to have rivalry with Nuggets

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't think Minnesota and Denver is a rivalry, and his reasoning is pretty bizarre.
Will Ragatz|
Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O'Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden.
Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O'Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves' thrilling double overtime win over the Nuggets on Tuesday was their sixth consecutive victory over Denver. They won the final two games of last year's seven-game series in the Western Conference Semifinals, then swept Nikola Jokic and company in this regular season.

The two teams have met in the postseason in each of the last two years and could be headed for a third consecutive meeting. It's become a fun rivalry between two of the best teams in the West.

But TNT's Shaquille O'Neal doesn't view it that way. Prior to Tuesday's game, the Inside the NBA crew was discussing Nuggets coach Michael Malone's comments that the Wolves "never play as hard as they do against us" when O'Neal chimed in with a strange opinion.

"It's not a rivalry," Shaq said. "Jokic is the best big guy in the game, right? His team needs to understand that when you come into the arena, guys are gonna be playing way above their heads. Minnesota's OK, but they're not that good. And (Malone) said it, when they play us, they play above their heads. Now Denver just has to match that. But it's not a rivalry."

Then came this laughable exchange.

"Can they beat them in a seven-game series?" O'Neal asked.

"They already did, last year, in the Western Conference Semifinals," host Adam Lefkoe replied.

"We aren't talking about last year," O'Neal said.

"Actually, they blew them out in game seven, at Denver," Candace Parker said.

It's just a weird take from O'Neal. The Wolves have won six in a row against the Nuggets and beat them in a playoff series less than a year ago, but they aren't good enough for it to be considered a rivalry? Also, the Wolves (45-32) are currently two games behind the Nuggets (47-30) in the standings. Last season, the Nuggets won one more game than the Wolves (57 to 56).

Sure, Denver beat Minnesota in five games in the first round on their way to the 2023 NBA championship, but the Wolves didn't have Jaden McDaniels or Naz Reid in that series. The two teams have been very equal since the start of the 2023-24 season, with the biggest difference being that the Wolves are 10-5 in head-to-head matchups against Denver during that span.

Seems like a rivalry to me.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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