The NBA on TNT is back, but Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t appear on tonight’s episode because he’s reportedly sick after the All-Star Weekend festivities. With that being said, his co-stars chimed in and began mocking the 7-foot-1 big man for not being able to make it to work despite getting a decent amount of breaks.
Ernie Johnson, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Charles Barkley had something to say about O’Neal’s absence tonight. With just 25 games remaining, they were hoping to start the second half of the season strong. After finding out why Shaq wasn’t with them, Chuck began to doubt his excuse.
“Poor baby. Just go down the street, you’ll see, at the hookah bar.”
Kenny joined in and even called Shaq an idiot.
“If he left and stayed in Atlanta, he’s an idiot… He’s not sick. He’s Superman, Superman doesn’t get sick.”
“Superman doesn’t get sick” 🤣@SHAQ he’s sick after All-Star weekend and the guys have some thoughts 😂 https://t.co/YfiSI9ihmO
EJ even had to taunt the four-time champion.
“Hey Shaq, cheer up. Come on, I know this is backbreaking work, but come on, man!”
Jokes aside, we’re all hoping to see Dr. O’Neal back with his friends on TNT.
Shaquille O’Neal thinks LeBron James deserves a statue outside the Crypto.com arena
The exterior of Crypto.com Stadium is surrounded by statues of past Lakers greats. As the most dominant player in league history, Shaquille O’Neal earned his own statuette despite how things turned out for him and the organization.
He went into detail about it in an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.
“I’m not the one you should ask about that question, however, he won a championship with the Lakers. A lot of people say that doesn’t count well if you can’t count his then you can’t count.” Mr. Tim Duncan’s bubble championship. That’s right, I said it. So if we’re going to count Tim Duncan’s championship that he had during the lockout year, you have to count that,” O’Neal said.
“A lot of people say that doesn’t count and if you can’t count theirs then you can’t count Mr. Tim Duncan’s bubble championship. That’s right, I said it!”
“So LeBron won as a Laker, he broke the record as a Laker. Would I object to him having a statue? I wouldn’t. If they want to give him a statue, I’d be fine with that. Great player, great for the league, and he did what I was supposed to do like Laker.”
Right now, LeBron James is the current superstar who is doing everything he can to lead the team to relevance. James was able to do just that in his second season in Los Angeles when they won the 2020 championship against the Miami Heat. Because of this, O’Neal believes that building a statue for LeBron is the right move.
Also read: Shaquille O’Neal Shares Terrifying Moment Going Against Michael Jordan: “The First Time I Felt Fear…There’s God”