Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O'Neal's Real Reason for Missing NBA Playoffs Revealed by Charles Barkley

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 13, 2025 8:01 AM ET

Shaquille O'Neal was nowhere to be found during the NBA on TNT's broadcast for Sunday's NBA playoffs game.

Ernie Johnson announced at the top of the show that O'Neal was absent from Sunday's broadcast and that Jalen Rose would be stepping in for the Hall of Fame big man's absence.

Johnson went on to say that O'Neal will also be away for TNT's coverage of Tuesday's double-header, as the Indiana Pacers look to close out their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by Game 5 between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The announcement took O'Neal's co-hosts by surprise. Both Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley questioned O'Neal's absence before quickly realizing why the Los Angeles Lakers icon wasn't able to join the show.

“He's going to the upfronts," Barkley revealed. "You don’t want to do that.”

"It's not like he's not working," Johnson added.

For context, the upfront is a major event that marks the beginning of advertising sales periods. TNT appears to have commissioned O'Neal to attend the event along with some of its top executives, where they will meet with major advertisers and members of the media.

Barkley also revealed that the gathering is taking place in New York before joking about why he wouldn't want to be part of the event.

"You don't want to be in New York right now, gagging going on," Barkley said, laughing.

With this being the case, Rose will remain in Studio J for Tuesday's set of games. O'Neal is expected to be back for Wednesday's coverage as the "Inside the NBA" crew reunites following their brief time apart.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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