Shaquille O'Neal abandons 'Inside the NBA' set after awkward Jay-Z comment

A recent episode of Inside the NBA took an unexpected turn when Shaquille O'Neal walked off set.

The TNT show has been running for 17 seasons and is hosted by retired basketball star O'Neal, Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

On Tuesday (December 10), the foursome were discussing whether ESPN's Stephen A. Smith could beat Smith at a free-throw contest.

"Stephen A played college basketball," argued Barkley.

"So did a lot of people in the world," Smith said in response, before adding that you have to 'work your way up to the championships'.

"You think Jay-Z, or..." he went on, before Barkley interjected saying that it's 'probably not a good time' to discuss the '99 Problems' hitmaker.

Smith was stunned into laughter as Johnson Jr. and O'Neal also tried to hide their chuckles.

In fact, O'Neal was struggling to hide his expression so much that had to get up from his seat to hide behind a wall for a moment to compose himself.

Inside the NBA is still the greatest NBA show!

Kenny: "You think Jay-Z”
Barkley: "Probably not a good time right now"
Shaq & EJ 😂😂pic.twitter.com/zxa9jYN9sA

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 11, 2024

Barkley stopping Smith in his tracks as he name dropped Jay-Z comes after the rapper was recently accused of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean 'Diddy' Combs in 2000.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has vehemently denied the claims.

A statement from rapper was shared to social media after news of the allegations broke.

Part of it reads: "My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a 'lawyer' named Tony Buzbee.

"What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle.

"No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!

"These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!"

Buzbee himself later responded to this and insisted that his client has not requested any money.

"As far as the allegations in the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media," he wrote on Twitter.

Buzbee is representing the 120 people who have come forward with allegations about Diddy since his arrest in New York in September.

The lawyer vowed to 'expose the enablers who enabled this conduct behind closed doors'.

He added: "The biggest secret in the entertainment industry, that really wasn’t a secret at all, has finally been revealed to the world. The wall of silence has now been broken."

If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org.