Standing at over seven feet tall and weighing around 325 pounds as a player, it’s safe to say that Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most physically imposing players in NBA history. And unfortunately for those behind the scenes at TNT Sports, O’Neal’s strength was on full display in the worst way on Tuesday’s edition of Inside the NBA.
During halftime of the TNT broadcast of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic matchup, Kenny Smith was getting ready to do his usual breakdown of the first half on the video board behind the set. However, in classic Inside the NBA fashion, O’Neal surprised Smith and beat him up to the video board.
In celebration of his victory over Smith in the “race” to the video board, O’Neal smacked the board. But quickly, it was apparent that O’Neal had actually damaged the display of the board in the process.
“Oh, he got me,” said Smith as O’Neal walked up to the board. “I did not think he was going. I was so caught up… Oh, he done broke the board.”
“Oh damn, sorry,” said O’Neal as he walked away from the board back to his seat laughing.
As Smith approached the board to see if he could get the picture on the board to work for his first-half breakdown, it was apparent right away that the display was indeed so broken that he wouldn’t be able to do so effectively, with a particular section where O’Neal hit it going dead. But that didn’t stop Smith from trying to make this work.
“Let’s see if it works,” said Smith. “Well, I’ll tell you what, I had this type of TV growing up, so I can definitely do it.”
O’Neal, of course, is no stranger to accidentally breaking things due to his strength. Whether it be tearing down backboards during his playing career or breaking chairs during podcast appearances, it’s safe to say that he isn’t exactly the most gentle former athlete around…
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.