Tormented by Shaunie, Shaquille O’Neal “Bullied” Matt Barnes Into Accepting Embarrassing Offer For Selfish Motive

Matt Barnes did something different from the podcasting and NBA analyst jobs we’re used to seeing him with The Barnes Bunch. Together with his girlfriend, Anansa Sims, he did his first major reality TV show on WeTV. Fans loved the unseen side of Barnes on the show that’s now renewed for season 2. Speaking on the Miss Understood Podcast, the Warriors said he was nervous about doing the show. It’s surprising because while Barnes Bunch is his first big reality venture, he’s had a taste of the business through Basketball Wives. That reason and the show’s creators in fact scarred him about the business.

His then-wife, Gloria Govan, was the face of the VH1 show alongside creator and executive producer, Shaunie Henderson (then known as Shaunie O’Neal at the peak of Basketball Wives). When the show premiered in 2010, it started off with Shaunie separating from Shaquille O’Neal. So it’s a bit surprising that Shaq lured Barnes to the show.

Yet Barnes says now, “I did reality TV, most embarrassed to admit, back in 2010: Basketball Lives. Shaq kind of bullied me into doing Basketball Wives.” It’s a bit of a stretch to call it ‘bullying’ because Shaq just told Barnes a persuasive excuse to do it. “He told me it would be a way to get our wives off our backs.”

Barnes once called it a mistake to appear on Basketball Wives. He didn’t enjoy it and told Rachel Uchitel on her podcast, “That was nasty! And the crazy part of the show is it’s still going on.”

Despite his bitter divorce from Govan and his lingering feelings about the show, he actually credits Shaunie and her gang for its success. “Respect to those women that have kind of made that a career, but it just really kind of showed me the crazy side of reality TV but also peaked my interest in, you know, television.”

Shaunie did it and kept it running quite successfully in a cutthroat industry. The Miami flagship show spun off to LA and Orlando versions. And Shaunie even did a wedding special when she married Keion Henderson. She also unknowingly set the foundation for Barnes’ future career.