Shaquille O’Neal is known for his hot takes during NBA on TNT broadcasts, but Tuesday he made news for an unfortunate break.
During the NBA on TNT pregame show, the cast admired and passed around a special Kelce brothers bobblehead portraying Travis and Jason Kelce in Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys. The two brothers are Cleveland natives and longtime Cavs fans. The bobbleheads were given to fans at the Cavs game against the Boston Celtics.
The TNT crew got a bobblehead to show around in the booth.
Studio host Adam Lefkoe handed Shaq the bobblehead, pointedly telling him, “Be very careful.”
“Oh yeah, that’s nice,” O’Neal replied.
“What do you think of Travis’ hair?” Lefkoe asked. “That’s the Kelce (hairstyle).”
O’Neal, who had been holding the bobblehead less than 15 seconds, then broke Jason Kelce off the bobblehead base.
“What?!” Lefkoe said.
Jamal Crawford joked, “Shaq said, ‘These ain’t no damn Reeboks.'”
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1765174610838896846
“Jeez man, we can’t even have nice stuff around here,” Lefkoe joked. “You just ripped Jason Kelce off.”
Just like you don’t want Shaq teaching your kid how to shoot free throws, it’s also a bad idea to let him handle your prized collectibles.
Fans seemed to enjoy the moment.
https://twitter.com/SeniorSwiftie13/status/1765181230956593391
How often y’all think Shaq’s big self accidentally just breaks stuff? https://t.co/19cs664rjp
— WBW (@HUCosell) March 6, 2024
Either @shaq doesn’t know her own strength or that was a really brittle construction. It didn’t look like he pulled the body off.
— Al Mattei (@TopOfTheCircle) March 6, 2024
HAHAHAHAHAHA https://t.co/Ezi8OXINEB
— Nick Paulus (@NickPaulus) March 6, 2024
It’s the kind of light-hearted moment that makes TNT’s NBA coverage so popular with many fans. Lefkoe shared some of the network’s behind-the-scenes adventures on a recent Awful Announcing podcast.
[@awful announcing; Photo Credit: NBA on TNT]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.