Shaquille O’Neal, the NBA legend, made an obvious error during his Tuesday night commentary gig that had fans in stitches.
For the Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks In-Season Tournament game on TNT’s in-studio panel, the 51-year-old departed from his customary seat as an NBA participant.
As a result, O’Neal had two unique chances to reflect on his playing career.
Soon after the game, minutes in front of other analysts Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller, O’Neal boldly declared.
Sahquille O’Neal and Reggie Miller were both on commentary for Miami’s game Tuesday night
O’Neal played for the Heat from 2004-08, winning an NBA championship with Miami in 2006
“I was the first big guy to show charisma and style while bringing the ball up the court.” Joking about Bol Bol and the 7-foot-4 youngster Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs, he remarked, “Not Wemby, Not Bol Bol, but me.”
After that, O’Neal responded to a query from Miller asking him to characterize the culture of the Heat. “I’m going to define it in three words: motivation, discipline, and never giving up,” he declared.
That’s a six-word sentence, obviously, and the internet had a field day with it.
One admirer on X said, “That was six words.”
Another admirer said, “Been hanging around Chuck too long lmao,” referring to Charles Barkley, his colleague. A GIF of someone solving a challenging math problem was shared by another fan.
Another person on X said, “His brain didn’t work quick enough to think of resilience lol.”
Reggie responded, “No pun intended,” since Miller failed to see O’Neal’s error in real time.
Another fan made the joke, “He bundled it.” “It’s okay, I watched the commercial.”
NBA fans were reminded of a similar statement made by Barkley on TNT more than ten years ago by O’Neal’s error.
In eight words, Barkley stated, “I got two words for you: Steve Nash and Chris Paul, must-see TV.”
Barkley said “Nash and Paul,” an attempt at self-correction that put him one word over his limit.
Although O’Neal has not yet addressed his error, given the tone of NBA on TNT, it is certain that the video will be used in the next few days to mock the 15-time All-Star.