Yardbarker
x
'Are You Not Entertained?': Shaquille O’Neal Gets Challenged If He Can Still Dunk At 52 During Inside The NBA Segment
Shaquille O’Neal speaks during The wearable & beyond with big Shaq. Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Valentin on Sunday, March, 9, 2014. (RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL / AMERICAN- STATESMAN)

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal showed that he still got it, as he gave his co-hosts and fans a delight when he did a dunk—at work, and while wearing his suit.

In one of the recent editions of “Inside the NBA,” Shaq’s co-hosts Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Charles Barkley steered the discussion into teasing Shaq and how he cannot dunk anymore, citing his age and occasional pains as reasons.

Eventually, Shaq was thrown a ball from off the camera and, with a ring ready in the show’s set, Shaq stood up, removed his suit jacket, and stood in front of the ring, after a few strides, Shaq jumped and made the dunk.

After the dunk, he claimed the moment with one line: “Are you not entertained?”

Shaquille O’Neal has always been known as a strong force in making dunks. He has made more than 2,600 dunks throughout his career in the NBA. At some points, he even dunked so hard that he broke backboards and rims, which led to the NBA changing the designs of rings and backboards to be more “Shaq-proof.”

Shaq has been previously criticized for his views related to dunking, particularly about how he thinks the NBA should “lower the rim” to give way for more dunking, as he believes that viewers want to see more dunking in basketball games.

“A pretty girl dunking on the rim? I’m watching that all day,” Shaq said when he appeared in an episode of Angel Reese’s podcast “Unapologetically Angel.”


May 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Shaquille O’Neal watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O’Neal Blames GSW, Three-Point Shots in NBA Viewership Decline

If Shaq is a fan of dunks in basketball games, he made it clear that he is not a fan of too many three-points in NBA games nowadays.

In one episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the discussion went on about the decline in NBA viewership and Shaq has one theory why fewer people want to watch basketball anymore: there’s to many three-pointers being thrown.

“It’s down because we’re looking at the same thing,” he said of the NBA’s viewership. “Everybody is running the same plays. Steph Curry and those guys messed it up. I don’t mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but every team isn’t a 3-point shooter. So why everybody has the same strategy? I think it makes the game boring.”

Shaquille O’Neal added: “Everybody wants to be Steph Curry, but everybody’s not Steph Curry and that’s why viewership is down. But these dudes, they need to wake up because if viewership is down, the money is gonna come down.”


Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O’Neal looks on before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!