Shaquille O’Neal is still breaking boards even after his NBA retirement. The basketball legend left his Inside The NBA co-stars shocked on Dec. 10, when his shenanigans during the halftime broadcast of the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks game on TNT ended with some broken technology.
Chatting with co-stars Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson during halftime, Shaq decided to get a jump start on his and Smith’s race to the big board on set. Overjoyed by his victory, the 7-foot-1-inch Hall of Fame center then delivered a big smack to the board with his massive hand โ unexpectedly breaking it in the process.
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The graphics could be seen glitching on the board as Smith admitted, “Oh, he got me. I did not think he was going. I was so caught upโฆ ” before adding, “Oh, he done broke the board.” Shaq, upon seeing his handiwork, responded simply, “Oh damn, sorry!” before walking back to his seat with a chuckle.
The broken board certainly made things difficult for Smith as he tried to use the monitor for his halftime analysis. “Letโs see if it works,” he said, joking, “Well, Iโll tell you what, I had this type of TV growing up, so I can definitely do it.”
Fans of Inside The NBA loved seeing Shaq and Smith’s antics play out, with one viewer writing on X (formerly Twitter), “Shaq still got it!” Another joked, “Thatโs coming out of Shaqโs check,” as a third teased, “See what happens when you screw around, THIS is why we can’t have nice things!” A different fan noted, “Almost spit out my drink when he did it. That is not cheap!”
The stars of Inside The NBA never shy away from making a splash. On Christmas Day, Shaq posed alongside Smith, Barkley and Johnson for some hilarious holiday photos complete with matching Christmas sweaters, a giant Shaq-A-Claus sack filled with toys and corny mall photographer poses. “These photos are the gift that keeps on giving,” the NBA on TNT wrote in the caption. “Happy Holidays!”