Speaking with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller on the OGs podcast, former NBA big man Shaquille O’Neal spoke on the end of his tenure on TNT. While O’Neal acknowledged that this would be the last season of ‘Inside the NBA,’ he hinted at something else in the works that could continue his television career.
“I have to be a consummate professional, so we definitely have one year left. And they’re working on some things, that’s all I’m at liberty to say,” said Shaq. “In a perfect world, I would love for us to stay together forever, but it’s in the hands of the powers right now. But this last year is gonna be a phenomenal year, you know Chuck is gonna go crazy, I’m gonna go crazy. It’s gonna be fun. Hopefully this is not the last year.”
‘Inside the NBA’ is one of the highest-rated sports shows on television. With Shaq, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith, the show has evolved over the years to attract the interest of millions of fans around the world.
O’Neal wasn’t the first one to join this current group but he’s become one of their most important and valuable members for his humor and championship-winning perspective. At 52, he’s also their youngest co-host and was on track to carry the torch long after the other three retired.
While O’Neal has been a television star for over a decade now, he began his career on the court, where he was one of the best big men in the game. Over 19 seasons, O’Neal averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game on 58% shooting. He retired from the league in 2011 as a 4x champion, 1x MVP, and 15x All-Star.
Even though Shaq is no longer playing on the court, you could make the case that he’s expanded his empire over the past 15 years. Besides his successful business ventures, Shaq has become a media darling with frequent media appearances and his own personal podcast.
Of course, his greatest media gig will always be ‘Inside the NBA’ and unless something changes, the show will surely be headed for extinction. The beginning of the end was over a year ago when the first rumblings began of a potential new media rights deal with Amazon.
This past summer, with the current Warner Bros. media contract set to expire, the league officially set terms on a new deal with Amazon, NBC, and partners that will deliver unprecedented gains to the NBA. While TNT and Warner Bros. have tried to take legal action against the league, it’s likely to get thrown out given that they failed to properly match Amazon’s offer.
So with the show likely headed toward its end, it remains to be seen what comes next for Shaquille ONeal. As one of the biggest personalities in the community, he’s unlikely to give up the spotlight for long and it won’t be long before we see him on the big screen in another role.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
