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Shaquille O'Neal Crashed ESPN's NBA Pregame Show As He Prepares for 'Inside the NBA' Move

Ryan Phillips

Shaquille O'Neal on the set of ESPN's "NBA Countdown" before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Shaquille O'Neal on the set of ESPN's "NBA Countdown" before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. / Via ESP
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Shaquille O'Neal decided to move on over to ESPN a bit early.

O'Neal and his partners at Inside the NBA are moving to the four-letter network next season, but he got a jump on things by showing up on set before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Shaq crashed the set of NBA Countdown and joked around with the panelists before the game tipped off.

Video is below.

Just a few future teammates having fun.

Stephen A. Smith, Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins and Bob Myers all seemed to be enjoying the walk-on appearance.

O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and their crew will move to ESPN to start the 2025-26 NBA season after airing on TNT since 1989. The 19-time Sports Emmy-winning show's move to ESPN is highly-anticipated.

We can likely expect far more appearances from O'Neal on other ESPN shows in the future.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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