Where Is Shaquille O’Neal? 7ft Legend Leaves TNT Studios Mid-Show, Draymond Green Stands as Replacement

The sudden rotations in the crew of Inside the NBA have raised big question marks. With the Golden State Warriors not making it to the playoffs, Draymond Green is using his free time to analyze games in the sets of NBA on TNT. Fans were excited to see the 2016 DPOY back, but with Inside the NBA’s future a big question mark, Shaquille O’Neal‘s sudden absence does tend to raise an eyebrow. 

The Los Angeles Lakers joined Inside the NBA today, ahead of game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. He was there during the halftime report as well, but he disappeared in the postgame session! The seats were filled by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Draymond Green. Notably, this is not the first time Shaq has disappeared from the sets. In fact, he and his close pal did not turn up for yesterday’s episode.

Both Barkley and Shaq were absent. Draymond Green and Vince Carter filled their seats instead. While their absence is definitely worrying, Shaquille O’Neal was recently even seen having fun with Barkley in the mini-court on the sets of TNT. On the safe side, he might have taken some time off to record another episode of his podcast. Let’s wait and see what’s about to happen.

The reason behind his absence today is officially unknown, but that was not the case yesterday. 

Why were Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley absent from Inside the NBA yesterday?

Reports revealed that Shaq and Barkley were occupied with work to promote TNT. The two Hall of Famers were busy preparing a pitch in favor of Turner Sports. An X user posted, “If you’re wondering why Charles Barkley + Shaquille O’Neal are NOT on for ‘Inside the NBA’ pregame show, they are in NYC preparing to pitch ad buyers at TNT Sports’ Upfront presentation Wednesday.” It was a long day at the office for the Big Diesel and the Chuckster, but not at Studio J. 

NBC has made an offer of $2.8 billion, which the TNT should match to retain their rights. In case TNT does not agree to match this bid, Shaq and Barkley will be permanently absent from the sets of Studio J. The Inside the NBA crew will break up and might work for different media houses!

The above scenario is something that the fans are severely scared about. So, when Shaquille O’Neal disappeared for two days in a row, many started to panic, and rightly so! TNT’s future with the NBA is hanging by a thread. It’s a 40-year-old partnership we are speaking about. Let’s hope this does not end on a bitter note.