Shaquille O'Neal. Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Mercenary Shaq a horrible ambassador for the NBA

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 8:48 AM ET

Shaquille O'Neal refuses to watch NBA games unless he's paid to analyze them.

The four-time NBA champion revealed his mercenary mindset in March when he mistakenly referred to Chauncey Billups as Pistons head coach. When asked about his on-air gaffe, he proudly stated that he doesn't watch "that [expletive]" when he's not working, and was thus unaware of the Pistons, a team with limited national exposure.

After Game 2 of the NBA Finals — his last assignment as an NBA TV analyst — Shaq revealed he had no interest in the remainder of the seven-game series due to his upcoming vacation.

"Now we have a series," he said after the Thunder tied things up against the Pacers. "I won't even be watching, because after this, I'm gonna be in The Bahamas."

When reminded by Kenny Smith and Isiah Thomas that there are televisions in The Bahamas, O'Neal joked, "Not in the ocean."

"Now we have a series. I won’t even be watching...I’m gonna be in the Bahamas." - Shaq reacts to OKC beating the Pacers in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/gVdbLlsXIE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2025

O'Neal's comments serve as a gentle reminder that many analysts paid to analyze basketball don't truly love the sport. His "Inside the NBA" colleague, Charles Barkley, also routinely trashes the NBA product and throws a fit when asked to analyze teams he is unfamiliar with.

Such disparaging comments poorly endorse the sport, which O'Neal and Co. should seek to promote as key stakeholders.

One could argue that O'Neal's honesty makes for good TV, but the flipside is that it potentially drives fans away from getting emotionally invested. Why would a potential fan care about the NBA when one of the league's biggest ever stars refuses to feign any interest?

For those of us who love basketball, the Pacers-Thunder series promises to be a classic, must-see showdown. The tied series shifts to Indiana for Game 3, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday on ABC.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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