Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal caused a firestorm of controversy when, asked about whether Dirk Nowitzki had a good chance to win MVP this season, he said the award was "tainted the last four or five years," according to several media reports.

Reporters asked O'Neal about Nowitzki's MVP chances right after the Mavericks had blown out the Heat last Thursday, the Miami Herald reported.

"I don’t know. I don’t know how y’all get that award," O'Neal said, the Herald reported. "That award’s been kinda tainted the last four or five years, so I don’t know what y'all vote for."

The story picked up momentum when reporters told Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash, the two-time MVP, that O'Neal said the award was tainted the last two years.

Nash didn't fire back, saying only, "I'm sorry he feels that way," the Herald and Arizona Republic reported.

Nash won the past two MVPs. Before that, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett won for the 2003-04 season, and San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan won back-to-back MVPs before that.

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