The temperature in Studio J was sweltering. No, not because of the intense quarterfinals of the in-season tournament. And as much as Shaquille O’Neal or Charles Barkley would like to think, it’s not because of them either. Before the Inside Guys have to duel with Stephen A. Smith and the ESPN crew in Vegas, the suave TV heartthrob, Boris Kodjoe, dropped by the Atlanta studio. And he snatched the mantle of the finest man Inside the NBA right under Shaq’s nose.

Instead of watching the proceedings of the NBA Cup quarterfinals, Shaquille O’Neal posted his utter humiliation on Instagram. The ladies on TNT staff were fawning over the 7-foot giant with comments like, “Damn, you’re fine.” Nothing Shaq’s not used to. And the big man graciously soaked it in when he said, “Thank you, ladies. I appreciated it.”

Till O’Neal stepped aside and we realized the ladies called Boris Kodjoe fine. 6’4″ Kodjoe was somewhat hidden behind the MDE center, but that was a big misunderstanding on Shaq’s part. When he realized, “You’re talking about him?” he said, “That’s some bulls–t.” Aw, you’re fine in your own way, Shaq. Just not when the hottest firefighter on TV is right there.

Despite the slight and the humiliating exit out of Kodjoe’s fine radius, Shaq conceded defeat in the caption. “I thought I was fine until @boriskodjoe showed up dam im ugly.” Last week, the Inside Guys joked that only Hakeem Olajuwon could take away Shaq’s confidence. Now Boris Kodjoe shares that honor.

Fun fact: Austrian-born Kodjoe is one year and two days younger than Shaq. So this is a somewhat even playing field where age is not a factor. And no hard feelings, either. Kodjoe commented, “Love you, bro,” under that post. So no feud here.

Shaquille O’Neal is still fine!

Jokes aside, we got to put some respect on the 9th sexiest bald man in the world of 2023. Although even that made Shaq the butt of jokes for weeks last season. Charles Barkley alleged that Shaq paid to get himself on that list with Michael Jordan and Jason Statham. He also took the snub to himself hard because he’s maintained in several interviews he’s better looking than the Big Aristotle.

But somewhere Shaquille O’Neal has Boris Kodjoe beat is giving us a good laugh. The skit left his 35 million Instagram followers in stitches. Some consoled Shaq, others apologized because they can’t resist Boris’ effortless charm.

Why the Station 19 star is on TNT is not immediately clear. He’s certainly not here to confirm he’s Charles Barkley’s doppelganger, no matter what Chuck thinks.

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