Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith David Becker/Getty Images
It’s not the holiday season until Shaquille O’Neal gets pushed into a Christmas tree.
During the Thursday, December 19, episode of Inside the NBA, the former Los Angeles Lakers player had his knees tested when he fell into a fully decorated tree on live TV.
“I have gifts for Christmas,” cohost Kenny Smith shared while heading to a fully decorated tree. “Shaq, I can’t get yours because it’s too heavy.”
When O’Neal, 52, agreed to get up from his anchor chair and pick up his blue present, Smith gave him a push that left him completely underneath the tree.
In the immortal words of Parks and Rec’s Tom Haverford, it’s important to treat yoself — and Shaquille O’Neal knows exactly how to do just that. The NBA star, 52, revealed that he shells out $1,000 on pedicures during a March episode of his podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq.” “I give about $1,000 because […]
“Every year we get him, baby,” Smith, 59, said while laughing. “We get him once a year, man. He’s a sucker for gifts.”
After fellow cohosts Charles Barkley and Adam Lefkoe joked that their coworker was spending a little too much time surrounded by branches, Smith agreed to lend a hand.
“We gotta help him,” he joked. “We gotta help him out.”
This isn’t the first time O’Neal has found himself a little too close to a Christmas tree. Over the years, the athlete has been the target of must-see pranks on live TV.
During one instance, O’Neal was going to shoot a basketball into a hoop. Unfortunately, the audience couldn’t watch him make it in because a staffer pushed a Christmas tree into the player moments before he tried to shoot his shot.
Another year, O’Neal and Smith seemingly teamed up for a little holiday scuffle that resulted in the sports analyst being shoved into a tree.
“You were trying to box me out. I was trying to move out of the way,” Smith tried to explain about the 2014 viral moment. “Why’d you try to box me out?”
O’Neal playfully replied, “This means war.”
Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal Courtesy of NBA on TNT/X
All jokes aside, the guys behind Inside the NBA on TNT have no problem getting into the holiday spirit.
Whether posing for Christmas photo shoots in their ugly holiday sweaters from Tipsy Elves or participating in the holiday edition of “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” the guys can’t hide their festive spirit and love for the game of basketball.
Several celebrities have been known to sport their favorite ugly holiday sweaters — from pop-culture-inspired tops to challah-bread pullovers — for the festive season. Taylor Swift, for one, encouraged guests at her 30th birthday party in December 2019 to lean into the Christmas theme. “Happy birthday but make it Santa,” the Grammy winner captioned a […]
As an added bonus, the audience can’t seem to get enough of their innocent fun as well.
“These guys need to be around forever,” one user commented via Instagram. Another added, “I really appreciate these guys for all the laughs throughout the years.”
Inside the NBA airs following each NBA telecast on TNT.
