‘Inside the NBA’ will air on ESPN and ABC at the beginning of the 2025-26 season. TNT lost the NBA’s media rights last year.
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Sports Seriously
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal seemingly didn’t have basketball on his mind when he scurried off the “Inside the NBA” set while the show was airing live.
O’Neal, famously known as simply “Shaq,” abruptly exited his seat on April 21 while his co-host, two-time NBA champion Kenny “The Jet” Smith, was discussing the outcome of Game 2 of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers‘ Western Conference first-round series.
As Shaq began to shimmy off set, his other co-host, NBA great Charles Barkley, asked, “You alright, big fella?” Shaq responds, “Go ahead, keep on talking.”
Smith, Barkley and sports commentator Ernie Johnson Jr. looked perplexed as Shaq exited the production set. Barkley even tried to remind Shaq that they were live, saying, “We’re on TV.”
Why did Shaq walk off the ‘Inside the NBA’ set?
Smith and Barkley joked that the four-time NBA champion walked off the set because he drank too much olive oil, which prompted him to use the bathroom.
“He was in the back talking about he was going to drink olive oil to clean his gut,” Smith said. “It’s cleaning his gut alright!”
Barkley explained that Shaq and other employees of the show are drinking the olive oil amid a two-week cleanse, to which Johnson replied, “He’s going to miss a lot of air time then.” When Shaq returned to his seat, he apologized and said he walked off to take a “number one” due to drinking a lot of water.
‘Olive oil diet is no joke’
Social media users couldn’t get enough of seeing Shaq hurry off set, with many joking about him participating in the olive oil cleanse, and others appreciating the show that almost came to an end when TNT lost the NBA’s media rights.
Thankfully for the “Inside the NBA” fans, ESPN and ABC will continue to air the show beginning with the 2025-26 season.
“Inside the NBA is universally recognized as one of the best and most culturally impactful shows in sports,” Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, said in a news release on Nov. 18, 2024. “We have long-admired the immensely talented team and are thrilled to add their chemistry and knowledge to our robust set of NBA studio offerings to super-serve NBA fans like never before. The addition of Inside the NBA further solidifies ESPN as the preeminent destination for sports fans.”
