“Inside The NBA,” featuring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal, is widely regarded as the best basketball show on television. During a recent appearance on “The Draymond Green Show,” Shaquille O’Neal opened up about his challenging transition from player to analyst and the secret behind the show’s success.

Shaq shared that his initial foray into broadcasting was not smooth. He revealed that the radio network threatened to fire him if he didn’t change his approach.

“When I joined Inside The NBA,] I wanted to be the black Brian Gumbel and use big words and do all that. TNT said, ‘Motherf***er’ we’ll fire your ass tomorrow. Be you,” he said.

Shaq then shared the recipe for the show’s success, mentioning its unique blend of humor and basketball analysis.

“We crack jokes, we do a lot of stuff. For the fans who have to work in the morning, if we’re gonna keep you up past your bedtime the least we want to do is entertain you,” he added.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend became part of TNT’s studio show in 2011. Yet, transitioning from player to analyst was challenging for him. Because it required time for O’Neal to build rapport with the rest of the cast.

Shaquille O’Neal Supports Draymond Green’s Addition to Inside The NBA

The Golden State Warriors’ star Draymond Green recently joined the team at Inside The NBA. Unfortunately, his outspoken comments about Rudy Gobert drew criticism. Nevertheless, his colleague Shaquille O’Neal came to his defense.

On Green’s podcast, Shaq expressed his support for TNT’s decision to get Green onboard, citing his intelligence and humor.

“I think the reason why they hired you [is] you’re very intelligent. You’re definitely one of us. You know how to crack jokes,” O’Neal said.