"No money in the game for me" - Shaquille O'Neal stakes claim to best athlete/rapper crown in response to Damian Lillard's comments

It looks like Shaquille O'Neal and Damian Lillard have quite different opinions on who the best athlete/rapper is. Both the Hall of Famer and the new Milwaukee Bucks star have had impressive rap careers, but it looks like they are not on the same page when it comes to their opinion on who is the best.

A couple of weeks ago, Damian Lillard said he is the best athlete/rapper of all-time. Shaquille O'Neal responded and named himself as the best athlete/rapper. He told TMZ Sports:

"I got a couple of freestyles. It's all competition for me, so when I hear other people that say, 'I'm a better athlete-rapper than Shaq,' I gotta step up. Nothing personal. I just have to let these people know who paved the way. For me, it's all fun.

"The reason why I retired from rap, ... there wasn't enough money on the table for me. I love rap and will always continue to do."

Shaq continued:

"For me, it is all fun. But, when people say they are better than the Diesel, that makes you want to compete, and I like competing. I put stuff out, they put stuff out and we let the people decide who the No. 1 is. I know who the No. 1 is. I always say myself is No. 1, but they got a lot of the guys out there that are coming."

Meanwhile, Damian Lillard believes he is elite when creating music, and that's why he considers himself the best. Damian Lillard said during an appearance on the BackOnFigg podcast (starting at the 18:10 mark):

"At this stage, where I’m as an artist. I just put my fifth album out. … I’m a max player in the NBA. ... But, as arartist. That doesn’t have anything to do with me as an artist. ... I’m producing a lot of music. ... I don’t think anybody else is taking it as serious as far as a real career."

He added (21:20):

"I respect Shaq, he went platinum. I respect what Shaq did as an artist, I have nothing against him. ... But when you listen to the rhymes, when you listen to the song, I just don't feel like nobody who’s been an athlete is ever been better than me at making music, or should I say rapping. At that time, Shaq got a little mad. ... I didn’t take it too personal. But, I feel the same way now."

Damian Lillard's rap career

Damian Lillard started his rap career in the mid-2010s at an amateur level.

Over the past decade, though, the All-Star guard has released quite a few albums, under his Dame D.O.L.L.A nickname. He has featured in a lot of songs, either as a lead artist or a featured artist.

Lillard has released a total of five albums, with his latest one, Don D.O.L.L.A., out on Aug. 17.. His latest rap song came out last week, just a few hours after he got traded to Milwaukee. The majority of the song's lyrics were about his time with the Blazers and his trade request.

Given how much he loves rap, we should expect Damian Lillard to keep making music and releasing albums.